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https://theconversation.com/restoring-coastal-habitat-boosts-wildlife-numbers-by-61-but-puzzling-failures-mean-we-can-still-do-better-227231>
"Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed
valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, most of it has
gone.
Pollution, coastal development, climate change and many other human impacts
have degraded or destroyed swathes of mangrove forests, saltmarshes, seagrass
meadows, macroalgae (seaweed) forests and coral and shellfish reefs. We’ve lost
a staggering 85% of shellfish reefs around the world and coral is bleaching
globally.
When healthy, these coastal habitats help feed the world by supporting
fisheries. They are home to more than 100 species of charismatic marine
megafauna, ranging from sharks to dugongs. They sequester carbon, thus helping
to slow climate change. The list goes on.
Healthy coastal habitats are the gift that keeps on giving. We need them back,
so there’s a lot of enthusiasm for restoring these habitats. For example, we
can plant mangroves, build new shellfish reefs and reduce pollution to help
seagrass grow back.
But we want to recover more than just the habitats. We want the animals they
support too. We need to know if restoration is helping animals.
We analysed restoration projects around the world to assess how animals are
benefitting. Compared to degraded sites, restored habitats have much larger and
more diverse animal populations. Overall, animal numbers and the types of
animals in restored habitats are similar to those in natural habitats.
So restoration works. But outcomes for animals vary from project to project.
Not all projects deliver the goods. As a result, resources are wasted and
humanity misses out on the huge benefits of healthy coastal habitats."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
