Endangered marine grass

2009/11/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Ozeanografia
• Ingurumena

The loss of a quarter of marine fields has occurred in the last 130 years, and the decline is increasing, as demonstrated by the first deep global assessment of marine herbs. According to quantitative data from 215 sites used for research, the rate of decline has increased from 1% annually before 1940 to 7% annually since 1990.

To conduct global research, researchers at the University of New Hampshire created a database of changes in the surface extension of marine herbs. In addition to this data, published research, network databases and other unpublished studies were used. The synthesis reflects that since 1980 an average of 110 square kilometers of sea fields have been destroyed per year.

According to experts, the loss rate of marine herbs is comparable to the loss of mangroves, coral reefs and rainforests, being one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world. However, they believe that it is still possible to recover marine fields under the name of marine protected areas.