Featured Image Credit: NRDC via Flickr
By K. Snyder
Amid the constant cycle of negative news around climate change, it is always a welcome respite to get some good news.
Global climate change has threatened plant populations all over the world. From the boreal forests to beds of sea-grass, it’s causing declines in productivity and slower growth rates in response to warming trends and unfavorable growing conditions. But in a surprising reaction to the marine changes associated global warming, kelp forests are defying expectations.
A new study from Stanford University released last Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed that kelp is actually flourishing in some areas of the ocean. This comprehensive study examined kelp populations all over the world: from the iconic kelp forests of California to the cold-tolerant species off the coast of Denmark. The result? 62% of the populations studied were either expanding or holding on strong.
Kelp can grow up to 2 feet a day in the proper conditions and it provides a critical habitat for many marine species, including the California sea otter. Populations of kelp can be found offshore of every continent except Antarctica. It is one of the most widespread and productive marine environments, making it an important component of the global energy cycle.
That means these kelp forests could act as massive carbon siphons; sucking carbon dioxide from the water and air and sequestering it in swaying undersea forests. Marine environments already capture over 50% of the yearly carbon captured naturally from the atmosphere. By adding more kelp or seaweed to the ocean, it could provide incredible benefits when it comes to combating climate change, improving marine habitats for wildlife and protecting marine resources. That’s a triple win!
And what about the 38% of populations that were not increasing or staying steady? The study reports that many of the areas they investigated were threatened by human actions such as fishing, coastal development and pollution as well as the threat of increasingly stronger storms that can decimate kelp forests.
As the study showed, kelp can be incredibly resilient in unfavorable conditions. Let’s hope this climate warrior can withstand the changes yet to come.