Seagrass fields in the Baltic Sea, which are enormous natural sinks that hold millions of tonnes of carbon but are rapidly shrinking due to deteriorating water quality, climate change, and disease, are being worked on by scientists in Germany.
The Geomar Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel estimates that the plant covers nearly 300 square kilometres in the Baltic region and stores three to twelve megatons of carbon.
A postdoctoral researcher at the centre named Angela Stevenson told Reuters that seagrass holds onto that carbon ‘for centuries to millennia.’ ‘Conserving these systems, making sure that that CO2 does not get re-emitted and further contribute to these emissions, is a big aspect to think about here.’
Stevenson and her colleagues have planted a test field in the Kiel fjord in Germany using seeds and single-shoot transplants from a nearby natural meadow in order to determine which cultivation techniques might be the most effective for restoring seagrass fields.
By subjecting the plants to heatwaves over generations, the team is also evaluating how well the plants can withstand the heat.
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