Reforestation could help save coral reefs from catastrophe

Date:
September 16, 2021
Source:
University of Queensland
Summary:
Increasing reforestation efforts in coastal regions could
substantially reduce the amount of sediment run-off reaching coral
reefs and improve their resilience, a new study has found.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Increasing reforestation efforts in coastal regions could substantially
reduce the amount of sediment run-off reaching coral reefs and improve
their resilience, a University of Queensland-led study has found.


==========================================================================
The study analysed more than 5,500 coastal areas from around the world and found that nearly 85 per cent of them leached sediment to coral reefs, the second most serious threat facing the world's reefs behind climate change.

Dr Andre's Sua'rez-Castro from UQ's Centre for Biodiversity and
Conservation Science said it was important to address the issue of
sediment runoff if efforts to reduce the human impact on reefs were to
be successful.

"Increased sedimentation can cause aquatic ecosystems to be more sensitive
to heat stress, which decreases the resilience of corals to pressures
caused by climate change," Dr Sua'rez-Castro said.

"If the link between the land and sea is not recognised and managed
separately, any future efforts to conserve marine habitats and species are likely to be ineffective." Excess sediment runoff from land clearing and agrichemical pollution along coastlines can increase sediment transport
to coastal waters.



==========================================================================
Dr Sua'rez-Castro said one of the impacts of sediment runoff on coral
reefs is a massive reduction in light levels that were key for coral
and sea grass growth and reproduction.

One solution proposed by Dr Sua'rez-Castro and his team is for countries
to commit to land and forest restoration in coastal regions, which will
help reduce the amount of sediment runoff.

"Reforestation is hugely important as it maintains the stability of
soils that are vital in limiting erosion risk -- it also helps to trap
more sediments and prevent them from reaching aquatic systems," he said.

"Building coral resilience through reducing sediment and pollution is
also key to improving a coral reef's potential for recovery.

"If land management to reduce sediment runoff does not become a global priority, it will become increasingly challenging, if not impossible, to protect marine ecosystems in the face of climate change." The researchers
said that while the benefits of land restoration activities were clear,
it would be a challenge to get countries and governments to commit to restoration activities.



========================================================================== "It's encouraging to see many countries with high coral diversity
committing large areas to land restoration, however the cost of
reforestation, as well as political and social barriers may make it
difficult to achieve these ambitious goals," Dr Sua'rez-Castro said.

"If an average of 1000 hectares of forest was restored per coastal basin,
land- based sediments reaching coral reefs could be cut by an average of
8.5 per cent among 63,000 square kilometres of reefs." Dr Sua'rez-Castro
and his team hope that local authorities can use their results to identify areas where reforestation can have the highest benefit on coral reefs.

"Our approach can be adapted with local data to identify optimal actions
for preserving 'win-wins' for multiple ecosystems spanning the land and
sea," Dr Sua'rez-Castro said.

"Several global initiatives such as the Paris Climate
Agreement are bringing forest restoration to the forefront
of global conservation discussions and our hope is that our
study can facilitate more informed and educated conversations
around the importance of a more integrated land-sea approach." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Queensland. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Andre's F. Sua'rez‐Castro, Hawthorne L. Beyer, Caitlin
D. Kuempel,
Simon Linke, Pasquale Borrelli, Ove Hoegh‐Guldberg. Global
forest restoration opportunities to foster coral reef
conservation. Global Change Biology, 2021; 27 (20): 5238 DOI:
10.1111/gcb.15811 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210916114539.htm

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