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The most mysterious forests on the planet are located underwater

2023-05-31 19:15:22Lifestyle SHKRUAR NGA BENJI JONES
The most mysterious forests on the planet are located underwater
The most mysterious forests on the planet are located underwater

A few kilometers west of San Diego in the USA, there is an ocean coast that differs greatly from the surface. The water is cold and blue. There is some green seaweed that goes up to the surface. But if you dive beneath the waves, a completely different realm emerges.

Below is a very beautiful forest. It is made not of trees, but of strands of giant kelp, a species of algae that can grow taller than a 10-story building. Attached to the ocean floor, strands of kelp move slowly with the currents. Flocks of fish, seals and other aquatic creatures pass through them like birds through the dense canopy of a forest above Earth.

"Diving into such an underwater forest is like entering a cathedral. It's just amazing," says Xharret Birnes, marine ecologist at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. The light that enters from the surface filters through the kelp, as if they were colorful glass, has been exploring special forests here for more than 20 years. Our planet has a number of large forests. For example, the Amazon or the boreal forests of Canada and Russia.

These famous ecosystems not only contain an incredible diversity of wildlife, but also store large amounts of carbon, which could otherwise warm our planet even more. It is no exaggeration to say that our existence depends on them. But equally important are the forests of the seas.

Occurring in the cold waters of nearly 1/4 of the world's coasts, kelp forests are the backbone of many marine ecosystems. They support coastal fisheries, helping to sustain the seafood industry. They also absorb large amounts of pollution and help trap gases that warm the planet.

A recent study estimated these benefits at $500 billion annually worldwide. But for all their great value, scientists know surprisingly little about kelp forests. Data on how they react to climate change and other threats, such as the spread of non-native species, are also incomplete.

What biologists know, however, suggests that many of these forests are in trouble. A study recently published by the United Nations shows that kelp forests have declined globally, and climate change will make the situation worse. Kelp forests have much in common with their terrestrial counterparts.

They form three-dimensional structures that provide homes for many species. They have a crown of leaves, a tender trunk and roots. But they also have some key differences. For example, kelp is not a plant, but a type of algae, a group of aquatic organisms in a completely different environment.

They also grow much faster than trees – up to half a meter per day – depending on the species. Some types of kelp, such as the giant kelp that is common off the coast of San Diego, reach the surface to form a crown. These forests are very widespread, covering an area of ​​the ocean up to 5 times greater than that of all coral reefs.

They support an amazing diversity. Thus, their root-like part provides shelter for small fish. One study found that a single kelp stalk in Norway supported approximately 80,000 organisms in 70 different species. Over 1,000 species of plants and animals are found in several kelp forests in California.

This is especially important for people who regularly consume seafood. A study has revealed that 1 hectare of such forest contributes an average of about 30,000 dollars per year to the fishing industry. But the benefits don't stop there.

As they grow, kelp forests, like those on land, absorb a lot of pollution, including fertilizer runoff from agricultural land and carbon (much of which enters the ocean from the atmosphere). Thus, they are helping to offset much of our global warming pollutant emissions.

A study published in "Nature" estimated that these habitats sequester at least 4.9 megatons of carbon from the atmosphere every year. Seaweeds even sequester more carbon than other ecosystems. But are these forests in danger? The simple answer is yes.

The most recent global analysis, based on data from 2012, found that global kelp forests are declining at an average rate of about 1.8 percent per year. One of the main reasons is climate change, which is making the oceans warmer.

Warmer waters tend to carry fewer nutrients, making it harder for such forests to grow. Another reason has to do with overfishing and depletion

of marine predators. When fishing nets catch predators like urchins, they multiply and mow down the kelp forests. The good news is that if some of these threats are eliminated, kelp forests can quickly return to their former state.

Taken with abbreviations from "Vox" - Bota.al


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