Global estimates of the extent and production of macroalgal forests

C.M. Duarte; J.-P. Gattuso; K. Hancke; H. Gundersen; K. Filbee-Dexter; M.F. Pedersen; J.J. Middelburg; M. Burrows; K.A. Krumhansl; T. Wernberg; P. Moore; A. Pessarrodona; S.B. Ørberg; I.S. Pinto; J. Assis; A. Queirós; D.A. Smale; T. Bekkby; E. Serrão; D. Krause-Jensen

doi:10.1111/geb.13515

Global estimates of the extent and production of macroalgal forests

C.M. Duarte
, J.-P. Gattuso
, K. Hancke
, H. Gundersen
, K. Filbee-Dexter
, M.F. Pedersen
, J.J. Middelburg
, M. Burrows
, K.A. Krumhansl
, T. Wernberg
, P. Moore
, A. Pessarrodona
, S.B. Ørberg
, I.S. Pinto
, J. Assis
, A. Queirós
, D.A. Smale
, T. Bekkby
, E. Serrão
, D. Krause-Jensen

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Aim
Macroalgal habitats are believed to be the most extensive and productive of all coastal vegetated ecosystems. In stark contrast to the growing attention on their contribution to carbon export and sequestration, understanding of their global extent and production is limited and these have remained poorly assessed for decades. Here we report a first data-driven assessment of the global extent and production of macroalgal habitats based on modelled and observed distributions and net primary production (NPP) across habitat types.

Location
Global coastal ocean.

Time period
Contemporary.

Major taxa studied
Macroalgae.

Methods
Here we apply a comprehensive niche model to generate an improved global map of potential macroalgal distribution, constrained by incident light on the seafloor and substrate type. We compiled areal net primary production (NPP) rates across macroalgal habitats from the literature and combined this with our estimates of the global extent of these habitats to calculate global macroalgal NPP.

Results
We show that macroalgal forests are a major biome with a global area of 6.06–7.22 million km2, dominated by red algae, and NPP of 1.32 Pg C/year, dominated by brown algae.

Main conclusions
The global macroalgal biome is comparable, in area and NPP, to the Amazon forest, but is globally distributed as a thin strip around shorelines. Macroalgae are expanding in polar, subpolar and tropical areas, where their potential extent is also largest, likely increasing the overall contribution of algal forests to global carbon sequestration.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1422-1439
Number of pages	18
Journal	Global Ecology and Biogeography
Volume	31
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13515
Publication status	Published - Jul 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Research for this paper was supported by Euromarine ( http://www.euromarinenetwork.eu ). We also received support from FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology through project UIDB/04326/2020 and the transitional norm – DL57/2016/CP1361/CT0035. JA and EAS received support from FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology (Portugal) through UIDB/04326/2020, SFRH/BSAB/150485/2019, and the transitional norm – DL57/2016/CP1361/CT0035 as well as project MARFOR (Biodiversa/0004/2015) and a Pew Marine Fellowship. J‐PG received support from Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Veolia Foundation, IAEA Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre and French Facility for Global Environment. DK‐J received support from the Independent Research Fund Denmark through the project ‘CARMA’ (reference: 8021‐00222B). AMQ acknowledges funding support from UKRI GCRF Blue Communities. JJM was supported by the Netherlands Earth System Science Centre. HG, KH and TB received funds from KELPPRO (RCN #267536), Nordic Blue Carbon (NEA #17080044), OPTIMAKELP (NFR #280732), and STORISK project (ANR‐15‐CE03‐0003). TW was supported by the Australian Research Council (DP170100023). DAS was supported by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (MR/S032827/1). KF‐D was supported by the Norwegian Blue Forest Network. PM was supported by a NERC/Newton Fund Latin American Biodiversity Programme NE/SO11692/1.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Global Ecology and Biogeography published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Keywords

area
biome
macroalgae
niche
production
seaweeds
trends

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Global Ecology and Biogeography - 2022 - Duarte - Global estimates of the extent and production of macroalgal forestsFinal published version, 1.57 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

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Duarte, C. M., Gattuso, J.-P., Hancke, K., Gundersen, H., Filbee-Dexter, K., Pedersen, M. F., Middelburg, J. J., Burrows, M., Krumhansl, K. A., Wernberg, T., Moore, P., Pessarrodona, A., Ørberg, S. B., Pinto, I. S., Assis, J., Queirós, A., Smale, D. A., Bekkby, T., Serrão, E., & Krause-Jensen, D. (2022). Global estimates of the extent and production of macroalgal forests. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 31(7), 1422-1439. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13515

@article{5d944e3ef06b4cd1b5adb3694eff9101,

title = "Global estimates of the extent and production of macroalgal forests",

abstract = "Aim Macroalgal habitats are believed to be the most extensive and productive of all coastal vegetated ecosystems. In stark contrast to the growing attention on their contribution to carbon export and sequestration, understanding of their global extent and production is limited and these have remained poorly assessed for decades. Here we report a first data-driven assessment of the global extent and production of macroalgal habitats based on modelled and observed distributions and net primary production (NPP) across habitat types. Location Global coastal ocean. Time period Contemporary. Major taxa studied Macroalgae. Methods Here we apply a comprehensive niche model to generate an improved global map of potential macroalgal distribution, constrained by incident light on the seafloor and substrate type. We compiled areal net primary production (NPP) rates across macroalgal habitats from the literature and combined this with our estimates of the global extent of these habitats to calculate global macroalgal NPP. Results We show that macroalgal forests are a major biome with a global area of 6.06–7.22 million km2, dominated by red algae, and NPP of 1.32 Pg C/year, dominated by brown algae. Main conclusions The global macroalgal biome is comparable, in area and NPP, to the Amazon forest, but is globally distributed as a thin strip around shorelines. Macroalgae are expanding in polar, subpolar and tropical areas, where their potential extent is also largest, likely increasing the overall contribution of algal forests to global carbon sequestration.",

keywords = "area, biome, macroalgae, niche, production, seaweeds, trends",

author = "C.M. Duarte and J.-P. Gattuso and K. Hancke and H. Gundersen and K. Filbee-Dexter and M.F. Pedersen and J.J. Middelburg and M. Burrows and K.A. Krumhansl and T. Wernberg and P. Moore and A. Pessarrodona and S.B. {\O}rberg and I.S. Pinto and J. Assis and A. Queir{\'o}s and D.A. Smale and T. Bekkby and E. Serr{\~a}o and D. Krause-Jensen",

note = "Funding Information: Research for this paper was supported by Euromarine ( http://www.euromarinenetwork.eu ). We also received support from FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology through project UIDB/04326/2020 and the transitional norm – DL57/2016/CP1361/CT0035. JA and EAS received support from FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology (Portugal) through UIDB/04326/2020, SFRH/BSAB/150485/2019, and the transitional norm – DL57/2016/CP1361/CT0035 as well as project MARFOR (Biodiversa/0004/2015) and a Pew Marine Fellowship. J‐PG received support from Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Veolia Foundation, IAEA Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre and French Facility for Global Environment. DK‐J received support from the Independent Research Fund Denmark through the project {\textquoteleft}CARMA{\textquoteright} (reference: 8021‐00222B). AMQ acknowledges funding support from UKRI GCRF Blue Communities. JJM was supported by the Netherlands Earth System Science Centre. HG, KH and TB received funds from KELPPRO (RCN \#267536), Nordic Blue Carbon (NEA \#17080044), OPTIMAKELP (NFR \#280732), and STORISK project (ANR‐15‐CE03‐0003). TW was supported by the Australian Research Council (DP170100023). DAS was supported by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (MR/S032827/1). KF‐D was supported by the Norwegian Blue Forest Network. PM was supported by a NERC/Newton Fund Latin American Biodiversity Programme NE/SO11692/1. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Authors. Global Ecology and Biogeography published by John Wiley \& Sons Ltd.",

year = "2022",

month = jul,

doi = "10.1111/geb.13515",

language = "English",

volume = "31",

pages = "1422--1439",

journal = "Global Ecology and Biogeography",

issn = "1466-822X",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd",

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Duarte, CM, Gattuso, J-P, Hancke, K, Gundersen, H, Filbee-Dexter, K, Pedersen, MF, Middelburg, JJ, Burrows, M, Krumhansl, KA, Wernberg, T, Moore, P, Pessarrodona, A, Ørberg, SB, Pinto, IS, Assis, J, Queirós, A, Smale, DA, Bekkby, T, Serrão, E & Krause-Jensen, D 2022, 'Global estimates of the extent and production of macroalgal forests', Global Ecology and Biogeography, vol. 31, no. 7, pp. 1422-1439. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13515

TY - JOUR

T1 - Global estimates of the extent and production of macroalgal forests

AU - Duarte, C.M.

AU - Gattuso, J.-P.

AU - Hancke, K.

AU - Gundersen, H.

AU - Filbee-Dexter, K.

AU - Pedersen, M.F.

AU - Middelburg, J.J.

AU - Burrows, M.

AU - Krumhansl, K.A.

AU - Wernberg, T.

AU - Moore, P.

AU - Pessarrodona, A.

AU - Ørberg, S.B.

AU - Pinto, I.S.

AU - Assis, J.

AU - Queirós, A.

AU - Smale, D.A.

AU - Bekkby, T.

AU - Serrão, E.

AU - Krause-Jensen, D.

N1 - Funding Information: Research for this paper was supported by Euromarine ( http://www.euromarinenetwork.eu ). We also received support from FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology through project UIDB/04326/2020 and the transitional norm – DL57/2016/CP1361/CT0035. JA and EAS received support from FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology (Portugal) through UIDB/04326/2020, SFRH/BSAB/150485/2019, and the transitional norm – DL57/2016/CP1361/CT0035 as well as project MARFOR (Biodiversa/0004/2015) and a Pew Marine Fellowship. J‐PG received support from Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Veolia Foundation, IAEA Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre and French Facility for Global Environment. DK‐J received support from the Independent Research Fund Denmark through the project ‘CARMA’ (reference: 8021‐00222B). AMQ acknowledges funding support from UKRI GCRF Blue Communities. JJM was supported by the Netherlands Earth System Science Centre. HG, KH and TB received funds from KELPPRO (RCN #267536), Nordic Blue Carbon (NEA #17080044), OPTIMAKELP (NFR #280732), and STORISK project (ANR‐15‐CE03‐0003). TW was supported by the Australian Research Council (DP170100023). DAS was supported by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (MR/S032827/1). KF‐D was supported by the Norwegian Blue Forest Network. PM was supported by a NERC/Newton Fund Latin American Biodiversity Programme NE/SO11692/1. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Global Ecology and Biogeography published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2022/7

Y1 - 2022/7

N2 - Aim Macroalgal habitats are believed to be the most extensive and productive of all coastal vegetated ecosystems. In stark contrast to the growing attention on their contribution to carbon export and sequestration, understanding of their global extent and production is limited and these have remained poorly assessed for decades. Here we report a first data-driven assessment of the global extent and production of macroalgal habitats based on modelled and observed distributions and net primary production (NPP) across habitat types. Location Global coastal ocean. Time period Contemporary. Major taxa studied Macroalgae. Methods Here we apply a comprehensive niche model to generate an improved global map of potential macroalgal distribution, constrained by incident light on the seafloor and substrate type. We compiled areal net primary production (NPP) rates across macroalgal habitats from the literature and combined this with our estimates of the global extent of these habitats to calculate global macroalgal NPP. Results We show that macroalgal forests are a major biome with a global area of 6.06–7.22 million km2, dominated by red algae, and NPP of 1.32 Pg C/year, dominated by brown algae. Main conclusions The global macroalgal biome is comparable, in area and NPP, to the Amazon forest, but is globally distributed as a thin strip around shorelines. Macroalgae are expanding in polar, subpolar and tropical areas, where their potential extent is also largest, likely increasing the overall contribution of algal forests to global carbon sequestration.

AB - Aim Macroalgal habitats are believed to be the most extensive and productive of all coastal vegetated ecosystems. In stark contrast to the growing attention on their contribution to carbon export and sequestration, understanding of their global extent and production is limited and these have remained poorly assessed for decades. Here we report a first data-driven assessment of the global extent and production of macroalgal habitats based on modelled and observed distributions and net primary production (NPP) across habitat types. Location Global coastal ocean. Time period Contemporary. Major taxa studied Macroalgae. Methods Here we apply a comprehensive niche model to generate an improved global map of potential macroalgal distribution, constrained by incident light on the seafloor and substrate type. We compiled areal net primary production (NPP) rates across macroalgal habitats from the literature and combined this with our estimates of the global extent of these habitats to calculate global macroalgal NPP. Results We show that macroalgal forests are a major biome with a global area of 6.06–7.22 million km2, dominated by red algae, and NPP of 1.32 Pg C/year, dominated by brown algae. Main conclusions The global macroalgal biome is comparable, in area and NPP, to the Amazon forest, but is globally distributed as a thin strip around shorelines. Macroalgae are expanding in polar, subpolar and tropical areas, where their potential extent is also largest, likely increasing the overall contribution of algal forests to global carbon sequestration.

KW - area

KW - biome

KW - macroalgae

KW - niche

KW - production

KW - seaweeds

KW - trends

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85127320679

U2 - 10.1111/geb.13515

DO - 10.1111/geb.13515

M3 - Article

SN - 1466-822X

VL - 31

SP - 1422

EP - 1439

JO - Global Ecology and Biogeography

JF - Global Ecology and Biogeography

IS - 7

ER -

Global estimates of the extent and production of macroalgal forests

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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