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Project to restore 'vital' #seagrass around #Scotland
March 1, 2025
"A £2.4m seagrass planting programme has been launched to help restore the plant in seas around the north of Scotland.
"The project aims to plant 14 hectares (34.6 acres) of seagrass, often described as a 'wonder plant' by conservationists, over the next three years.
"Seagrasses are often likened to rainforests because they provide food and shelter for thousands of species, but they have been declining globally since the 1930s.
"In the last century 92% of the plants have been lost from Britain's coasts and areas once covered by seagrass are now 'lifeless seabeds', according to research by University College London.
"The new initiative is a partnership between the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (#SMEEF) and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN).
"Grants have been awarded to four organisations that cover areas from #Shetland to the #Kintyre peninsula.
"These are #MossyEarth's #WilderFirths project (based around the Black Isle), Kintyre Coastal Network's East Kintyre Biosphere, Wester Ross Fisheries Trust's seagrass planting project and Restoring Shetland's Marlie Meadows - a project by the University of the #Highlands and Islands.
"Seagrass is home to a vast number of species, and is a food source for many others.
"It can purify water and slow down waves, protecting coastal areas from flooding as a result.
"The plant also takes in #CO2, making it useful in tackling #ClimateChange.
"The partnership said Scottish seas are a special place for marine habitats like seagrass, with the country's coasts stretching 18,000km (11,185 miles) and containing 8,000 species or more."
https://bbc.com/news/articles/cd65j7jd3z5o
#Rewilding #SolarPunkSunday #RestoringWetlands #MarineEnvironment #ScottishCoast #CoastErosion #Flooding #RestoreWetlands
@DoomsdaysCW What killed the old seagrass, and why won't it kill the new seagrass?
@grumble209 I *think* that a lot of it was removed for boating, but I'll look into that. Good question!
@grumble209 I know growing up on the North Shore of Massachusetts, salt hay (I think a form of seagrass?) was harvested for cattle feed (built in salt lick).
@DoomsdaysCW I'm from the northwest, and I've seen more than one re-population attempt fail because, despite the best of intentions, the root causes of the population decline weren't addressed.
Around here, the root cause is often "humans took over the habitat with farms or cities or roads." Humans can make long-term changes to our environment; often other species pay the price.
@grumble209 So, I was wrong. A disease in the 1930s killed a lot of the seagrass. So now I'm wondering if it disease-resistant!
Historical Analysis Exposes Catastrophic Seagrass Loss for the United Kingdom
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.629962/full