Seagrass - 233

Wet, Green solutions

Autumn is a colorful time of year. It is when my favorite color, green, departs. Fall is when the north woods prepare to rest. What makes it green is chlorophyll and with the loss of chlorophyll the underlying colors are revealed.  

With the arrival of autumn, the forest also ceases to pull CO2 from the air. If you search out the “Keeling Curve CO2 graphs” you will see each year the CO2 concentrations go down a bit in the summer and then rise in the winter.

It is the “Green Stuff”, chlorophyll, that makes it happen in the process called photosynthesis. We usually associate this with trees. If we plant more trees and manage them well, and gradually cease burning coal, oil, and gas, it is possible for us to bring the concentration of CO2 down.

Tree planting and responsible professional management of forests is universally popular. Unfortunately, trees by themselves, may not be up to the task of removing all the CO2. The goal to save us from warming 1.5 C temperature rise, set in the Paris Accord, requires the removal of 584 tons of CO2 by 2100. To meet this target, mankind may have to find additional ways to sequester the carbon. Is there another natural (green) way of pulling the carbon out?

Yes, and I will diverge here to reveal my initial motivation for writing this column. My partner loves to snorkel but is uneasy about doing it alone. Seeing the underwater world is fascinating for us and one of our most pleasant snorkeling activities is watching sea turtles. While it is enjoyable (some may say romantic) to snorkel side by side while watching  sea turtles feed, there is a limit for me mingling with turtles. What I found interesting is once my buddy sees the turtles, she is happy as a clam and without any fear. This gives me a chance to lay on the beach and enjoy a cold beer. Thus, I am grateful the Lord created sea turtles.

But turtles need something to eat, and the green sea turtle eats green sea grass. Sea grass is one of the many climate friendly biomes scientists are researching to meet the crisis.

There are many natural biomes which suck up CO2 nearly as fast as forests and sometimes even faster. These include marshland, kelp beds, the grasses on seacoast dunes, and especially mangrove forests.

If we nurse these natural biomes back to health, we will not only increase carbon sequestration to mitigate the climate crisis, but these plants also protect shorelines.

As the seas rise and storms proliferate these plants play a role in adaptation. These plant-based biomes stabilize shoreline soils with their roots. The vegetation above the soil also slows water movement. Taken together they provide a protective barrier.

In addition, these plants are sea life nurseries. Sea life feeds millions of people. So wisely planting these plants and protecting and enhancing their health is a rising priority. They suck up CO2, provide coasts with a protective barrier, and help feed us.

Since we have mangled much of our coastline many communities are studying not only what and where to plant but how their coastal communities can protect these biomes from pollution, excess fertilizer, destructive fishing, silting, trampling, and new construction.

This is a daunting task. We have spent most of our existence and wealth creating weapons of war, making transportation faster, and studying how we can manipulate young minds to be addictive consumers. (marketing).  There has been little time or money spent learning what lies under the surface of the ocean and pathetically, less time and money devoted to protecting it.  

This shameful ignorance is being corrected. A recent article in Science 05AUG22 identified world seagrass regions as one of the least understood and most useful biomes on the planet. The five-page article, “The planetary role of seagrass conservation” had 70 references indicating there are a lot of young bright minds addressing the issue.

Also, the scientists of the Nature Conservancy and the National Wildlife Society are working with local coastal organizations.  Citizens are restoring, rebuilding, and protecting their green seacoast biomes which, in turn, protect them.

 As a bonus, often their seafood dinner started out in a seagrass nursery. But, hopefully, dinner is not turtle stew!

Additional References:  New Scientist magazine autumn 2022, “Engineering the Oceans”; Time magazine 04JUL22 “Save the Mangroves”; Audubon magazine summer 2022, Buried Treasure (mangroves); Science magazine 18MAR22 “Brazilian mangroves: natural carbon storage”; NATURE conservancy magazine fall 2022 “The Mangrove Mothers”.