Potential negative effects of ocean afforestation on offshore ecosystems.

Autor: Boyd PW; Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Philip.boyd@utas.edu.au., Bach LT; Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia., Hurd CL; Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia., Paine E; Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia., Raven JA; Division of Plant Sciences, University of Dundee at the James Hutton Institute, Dundee, UK.; Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales, Australia.; School of Biological Science, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia., Tamsitt V; College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St Petersburg, FL, USA.; University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Nature ecology & evolution [Nat Ecol Evol] 2022 Jun; Vol. 6 (6), pp. 675-683. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Apr 21.
DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01722-1
Abstrakt: Our scientific understanding of climate change makes clear the necessity for both emission reduction and carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The ocean with its large surface area, great depths and long coastlines is central to developing CDR approaches commensurate with the scale needed to limit warming to below 2 °C. Many proposed marine CDR approaches rely on spatial upscaling along with enhancement and/or acceleration of the rates of naturally occurring processes. One such approach is 'ocean afforestation', which involves offshore transport and concurrent growth of nearshore macroalgae (seaweed), followed by their export into the deep ocean. The purposeful occupation for months of open ocean waters by macroalgae, which do not naturally occur there, will probably affect offshore ecosystems through a range of biological threats, including altered ocean chemistry and changed microbial physiology and ecology. Here, we present model simulations of ocean afforestation and link these to lessons from other examples of offshore dispersal, including rafting plastic debris, and discuss the ramifications for offshore ecosystems. We explore what additional metrics are required to assess the ecological implications of this proposed CDR. In our opinion, these ecological metrics must have equal weight to CDR capacity in the development of initial trials, pilot studies and potential licensing.
(© 2022. Springer Nature Limited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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