Annalisa Falace,1, Sara Kaleb,1, Valentina Asnaghi2, Rachel Clausing2, Mariachiara Chiantore2
1Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy, 2Department for Earth, Environment and Life Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
The field of marine habitat restoration has developed rapidly in recent years and is likely to accelerate with the UN Decade of Restoration (2021-2030). Despite a relatively long history in some countries, the science and practice of marine forest restoration in the Mediterranean is still in its infancy and there is much to learn from failures and successes. Furthermore, the field of macroalgal restoration lags behind other marine ecosystems, with fewer projects and smaller restoration efforts.
Recently, growing awareness and concern about the increasing threats and observed declines has led to several publications with recommendations for the restoration of Cystoseira s.l.
To some extent, biological, environmental and logistical challenges have been overcome and lessons learned can help in selecting the best sites, species and protocols for restoration. While climate change makes restoration urgent, it also limits its feasibility. Both natural and restored populations face the same threats (e.g. thermal anomalies, storm surges) and it may no longer be possible or advisable to restore the same species or population in an area where it previously occurred.
An important challenge is to address the often difficult goal of scaling the impact of restoration to the scale of forest loss. Effective scaling requires consideration of spatial and temporal variability in environmental factors (e.g. nutrients, temperature, local oceanography), stressors and connectivity, as well as consideration of cost-effectiveness, permitting constraints and logistical support needs to ensure the feasibility and success of restoration.