Global estimates of the extent and production of macroalgal forests

Duarte, CM, Gattuso, J-P, Hancke, K, Gundersen, H, Filbee-Dexter, K, Pedersen, MF, Middelburg, JJ, Burrows, MT, Krumhansl, KA, Wernberg, T, Moore, PJ, Pessarrodona, A, Ørberg, SB, Pinto, IS, Assis, J, Queiros, AM, Smale, DA, Bekkby, T, Serrão, EA and Krause-Jensen, D 2022 Global estimates of the extent and production of macroalgal forests. Global Ecology and Biogeography. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13515

Preview

Text Global Ecology and Biogeography - 2022 - Duarte - Global estimates of the extent and production of macroalgal forests.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract/Summary

Aim Macroalgal habitats are believed to be the most extensive and productive of all coastal vegetated ecosystems. In stark contrast to the growing attention on their contribution to carbon export and sequestration, understanding of their global extent and production is limited and these have remained poorly assessed for decades. Here we report a first data-driven assessment of the global extent and production of macroalgal habitats based on modelled and observed distributions and net primary production (NPP) across habitat types. Location Global coastal ocean. Time period Contemporary. Major taxa studied Macroalgae. Methods Here we apply a comprehensive niche model to generate an improved global map of potential macroalgal distribution, constrained by incident light on the seafloor and substrate type. We compiled areal net primary production (NPP) rates across macroalgal habitats from the literature and combined this with our estimates of the global extent of these habitats to calculate global macroalgal NPP. Results We show that macroalgal forests are a major biome with a global area of 6.06–7.22 million km2, dominated by red algae, and NPP of 1.32 Pg C/year, dominated by brown algae. Main conclusions The global macroalgal biome is comparable, in area and NPP, to the Amazon forest, but is globally distributed as a thin strip around shorelines. Macroalgae are expanding in polar, subpolar and tropical areas, where their potential extent is also largest, likely increasing the overall contribution of algal forests to global carbon sequestration.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Additional Keywords:	area, biome, macroalgae, niche, production, seaweeds, trends
Subjects:	Aquaculture Biology Ecology and Environment Marine Sciences
Divisions:	Marine Biological Association of the UK > Ocean Biology
Depositing User:	Tamar Atkinson
Date made live:	27 May 2022 15:09
Last Modified:	09 Feb 2024 16:50
URI:	https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/9686

Actions (login required)

View Item