Ecosystem Services

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Kelp has a long tradition of being used as fertilizer, and there is a growing interest for human foods based on algae and seaweed, and for hundreds of different products made from kelp alginate. There is also an increasing demand for non-fossil energy which has made kelp interesting as biofuel. Norway is said to be capable of cultivating 20 million tons of kelp with an annual added value of 40 billion NOK. Since kelp forests are assumed to be crucial habitats for many economic important fish species, the value creation from fishery and other sea food is high. Fish are believed to depend on this habitat for spawning, hatching, nursing and grazing. Kelp forests are remarkably resilient to natural disturbances such as wave impacts, storm surges, and other extreme oceanographic events and this service is essential for the safeguarding of ecosystem functions. Being primary producers, kelp use solar energy to convert inorganic material to organic matter through photosynthesis and therefore affect the biochemical cycles and regulate the global climate by using CO 2 . The kelp plants act as reserves or sinks for CO 2 as long as they are alive and through the disposal of dead organic plant material into the sediments. However, the proportion of dead kelp material stored for the future is still an unanswered question. Eutrophication mitigation is mediated by kelp forests and reduces the threats of algal blooms, hypoxia, etc., thus contributing to the improvement of water quality, which is, in terms of transparency, believed to infer great benefits for the production of food and to all aspects of ecosystem diversity and function. Many studies are also supporting bioremediation and integrated aquaculture practices that utilize seaweeds as biofilters in multitrophic farming operations. Coastal defense, such as erosion prevention, represents a critical ecosystem service provided by the kelp forest and will be increasingly important along many coastlines as the consequences of anthropogenic climate change intensifies. Certain ecosystem services related to tourism can be directly associated with kelp forest, such as scuba diving, whereby people actually enjoy watching a healthy kelp forest with its associated biodiversity. But there is also a strong indirect connection via for instance the role of kelp in eutrophication mitigation, since swimming and other activities will be experienced more positively in clean water. Also, recreational fishing in marine waters is a big industry and is related to kelp through the importance of kelp forests as fish habitats. Eelgrass meadows Eelgrass meadows provide habitat for a wide range of species due to the three dimensional structure it creates on shallow soft bottoms. They provide suitable substratum for a rich epifauna and flora which also in turn support diverse fish communities finding 12 Ecosystem Services
shelter and food. This ecosystem is considered the most productive of shallow, sedimentary environments and has a high production, building up both above- and belowground biomass during growth season. By high primary production, nutrient cycling, and by providing a three dimensional structure, eelgrass in many ways provide biological control. Growth of many marine bacterial species is inhibited by water-soluble extracts of eelgrass leaves, and by that eelgrass is altering the activity of microorganisms. Today, eelgrass harvesting is of no value, but eelgrass has for centuries been used as building material for houses, as cattle feed and soil amendment. No medicinal use is known for eelgrass, but it may be a good resource for screening natural antibiotics due to its slow decay rates. No commercial or subsistence fishery is conducted in eelgrassmeadows today, but eelgrass is still essential for commercial fisheries through its role as key habitats for juvenile cod and other commercial species. Seagrass and other eelgrass meadows are natural hot spots for carbon sequestration and have a high ability to produce, trap, and store organic compounds, making them important carbon sinks. Due to nutrient cycling and storage, eelgrass minimize the efflux of ammonia and phosphate to the water column, clean the water and mitigate eutrophication, and possibly reduce growth of opportunistic macroalgae and phytoplankton. Eelgrass may play an important role in biogeochemical cycling of heavy metals. Uptake of nutrients by eelgrass and other submerged aquatic vegetation can help to prevent nuisance algal blooms and can improve water clarity. The eelgrass leaf canopy and the network of rhizomes and roots fix and stabilize the sediment and reduce resuspension of sediment by currents and waves. Ecosystem services provided by eelgrass meadows, like high biodiversity and shelter and feeding ground for many species, implies that the eelgrass meadows are popular fishing sites for recreational fishing. Eelgrass meadows play a role in tourism by cleaning the water, through eutrophication mitigation and coastal defense, and by boosting the biodiversity on sandy beaches and create good sites for bathing and recreational fishing. Blue mussel beds The blue mussel is one of our most common marine species and an important habitat builder. Blue mussels increase biodiversity by providing substrate for algae and refuge for small animals. Constituting 70% of the coastal biomass in the Baltic, blue mussels contribute greatly to ecosystem structure and function. By filtering phytoplankton, including toxic algae, filter feeders like blue mussels can inhibit or even prevent harmful blooms and also its influence on biological control can be attributed to their filtering abilities. Ecosystem Services 13
Page 1: Ecosystem Services In the Coastal Z
Page 4 and 5: Ecosystem Services In the Coastal Z
Page 6 and 7: 5. Ecosystem services of blue musse
Page 9: Preface This report gives an overvi
Page 12 and 13: Baseline Natura 2000 NCM NIVA NOK T
Page 16 and 17: Traditionally, blue mussels have be
Page 19 and 20: 1. Introduction 1.1 Background Mari
Page 21 and 22: quences of different uses (Meld. St
Page 23 and 24: forests, we have also looked at the
Page 25 and 26: Important supporting ecosystem serv
Page 27 and 28: Skagerrak and Baltic in the south.
Page 29: The approach goes beyond ecosystem
Page 32 and 33: Figure 2: Map of the Nordic countri
Page 34 and 35: the tourism industry. The total val
Page 37 and 38: 3. Ecosystem services of kelp fores
Page 39 and 40: and Vance 2015), the spread of inva
Page 41 and 42: Box 2: Eutrophication, climate chan
Page 43 and 44: 3.3 Supporting services 3.3.1 Habit
Page 45 and 46: Scheibling 2012). Detritus settles
Page 47 and 48: Based on the well-known food chains
Page 49 and 50: Box 3: An investigation of CO2 upta
Page 51 and 52: Many studies are also supporting in
Page 53 and 54: 4. Ecosystem services of eelgrass m
Page 55 and 56: Figure 11: Eelgrass meadow with flo
Page 57 and 58: The challenge is to stop or reduce
Page 59 and 60: 4.3.2 Primary production, food webs
Page 61 and 62: 4.3.3 Biological control By high pr
Page 63 and 64: 4.5 Regulating services 4.5.1 Maint
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4.5.5 Coastal defense The eelgrass
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5. Ecosystem services of blue musse
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al. 2002, Vuorinen et al. 2002, Lap
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of plankton and suspended particles
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Figure 18: Blue mussel farmed in a
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5.5 Regulating services 5.5.1 Maint
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for consumption and enjoyment of re
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Box 5: Løgstør - the town of muss
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which slowly become flads and later
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occur in these types of environment
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Figure 22: Shallow, wave sheltered
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6.3.3 Biological control Shallow, w
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On the Swedish east coast the comme
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6.5.3 Eutrophication mitigation Rem
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Within two weeks, the charophyte co
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The contradiction between how the u
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Of the regulating services, kelp an
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7.2 Knowledge gaps Although this st
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huge knowledge gap regarding which
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7.2.4 Shallow bays and inlets Recre
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Baumann HA, Morrison L, Stengel DB.
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Christie H, Norderhaug KM, Fredriks
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FAO. 2014. The State of World Fishe
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HVMFS (Havs- och vattenmyndigheten)
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Karås P. 1996a. Basic abiotic cond
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Lyngby JE, Brix H. 1989. Heavy meta
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Newell RIE. 2004. Ecosystem influen
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Rinde E, Tjomsland T, Hjermann DØ,
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Stål J, Paulsen S, Pihl L, Rönnb
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Wernberg T, Russell BD, Moore PJ, L
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mrd NOK. Siden tareskogene er antat
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størrelse som fiskeoppdrett, men f
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Nordic Council of Ministers Ved Str
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Ecosystem Services

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