Anthropogenic activities have caused profound changes globally in biodiversity, species interactions and ecosystem functions and services. In terrestrial systems, restoration has emerged as a useful approach to mitigate these changes, and is increasingly recognised as a tool to fortify ecosystems against future disturbances. In marine systems, restoration is also gaining traction as a management tool, but it is still comparatively scant and underdeveloped relative to terrestrial environments. Key coastal habitats, such as seaweed forests and seagrass meadows are showing widespread patterns of decline around the world. As these important ecosystems increasingly become the target of emerging marine restoration campaigns, it is important not only to address current environmental degradation issues, but also to focus on the future. Given the rate at which marine and other environments are changing, and given predicted increases in the frequency and magnitude of multiple stressors, we argue for an urgent need for subtidal marine macrophyte restoration efforts that explicitly incorporate future-proofing in their goals. Here we highlight emerging scientific techniques that can help achieve this, and discuss changes to managerial, political and public frameworks that are needed to support scientific innovation and restoration applications at scale.
Operation Crayweed focuses on the restoration of underwater forests that disappeared from the coastline of Sydney, Australia’s largest city, 40 years previously. We show how a combination of science, hands‐on restoration, community engagement and art has helped the project to reach its goals as well as raise awareness about the importance of underwater kelp forests that are experiencing global decline.
Three case studies involving two temperate Australian seagrass species-Pondweed (Ruppia tuberosa) and Ribbon Weed (Posidonia australis)highlight different approaches to their restoration. Seeds and rhizomes were used in three collaborative programmes to promote new approaches to scale up restoration outcomes.
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