This presentation shows how to practically restore a degraded sea grass ecosystem. Fellow scientists are invited to help with additional information if they have any.

1. RESTORATION OF A DEGRADED SEA GRASS ECOSYSTEM
Presentation prepared by;
Andrew tarus
Affiliation: Kenyatta University.
Bsc. Marine and coastal resource
management.
tarusandrew@yahoo.com

2. INTRODUCTION
• Coastal and estuarine habitats are dynamic environments. Many coastal ecosystems are
dominated by ne or few foundation species (Bertness, 2001), species that positively affect
the fitness of other species through their modification of the environment.
• Sea grass typically ameliorate stress, by creating shelter and sediment stabilization resulting
in low water turbidity and amelioration of wave action. Sea grass beds also form the basis
of key ecosystem services, including erosion control, carbon sequestration for climate
change mitigation, fish stock and high biodiversity including highly endangered species
(Duarte, 2000).

3. HOW TO RESTORE A DEGRADED SEA GRASS ECOSYSTEM.
1) Practically assessing the site.
Assess the current condition of the site. The state of the sea grass field should be established and proper
determination of the source of the disturbance be established. The disturbances may be natural or human
induced. Geological events like;
 Tectonic plate movement causing coastal uplift or subsidence.
 Coastal erosion from oceanic waves and currents.
 Volcanic eruption.
In addition, meteorological events such as heavy and prolonged rains, increased wind velocity e.g. winter
storms, hurricanes, cyclones, and seasonal sea ice formations and retreat can result in the loss of sea grass
cover or a change in the sea grass species assemblage.
Biological interactions, such as grazing, sediment turnover and disease, can disrupt sea grass at scales ranging
from individual leaves to whole ecosystems.

4. 2) Develop the project goals. The aim of restoring the degraded area may be to restore the biodiversity of the
area, the structure, restore the integrity of the area and functions for example the carbon storage as sea grasses
accumulate greater amount of carbon.
Also to improve the economic value of the services offered by the sea grass ecosystem. The goals are
normally subject to the needs of the
3) Removal of the stressors or disturbances. This refers mainly to the activities and processes that drive the
decrease or diminishing of the sea grass meadows. These activities include;
 Coastal development. Development along the coastal zone destroys sea grass bed hence reducing the sea grass
ecosystem Construction work in the coastal zones can modify the areas natural marine currents and coastal
sedimentation process, run-off of sediments from inland construction work, transported by rivers and rain
directly into the sea, can burry or completely destroy the entire sea grass beds.

5. • Overfishing-Overfishing of certain species of commercial value can lead to the
disappearance or, decline, causing a domino effect along the entire food chain.
• Rising warm water temperatures tend to increases rate of sea grass respiration faster than
rates of photosynthesis this makes sea grass more susceptible to grazing by herbivores.
• Inappropriate anchorage- bad anchorage of boats within sea grass ecosystem leaves
scarves in sea grass beds hence destroying their survivability.
• Invasive species- it increases competition within the sea grass ecosystem reducing the
succession of the native species such disturbance should be removed.
• Pollution –human activities pollute the sea grass ecosystem, resulting in eutrophication
which damages the survival ability. Drained contaminants from inland activities also
cause sedimentation in the sea grass zone especially where riparian vegetation is
destroyed.

6. • 4) Actual sea grass planting.
• Natural re-colonization- This is ensured by working on suitable conditions for growth
of sea grass and leaving natural restoration to take its course.
• Transplanting –collecting the core plugs from healthy beds, mature plants with
rhizomes or alter storm shoots may also be collected directly from the beach for
subsequent transplant into degraded areas. The core plugs are either inserted directly
into substrate or planted by means of biodegraded “pot”
• Planting seeds- the mature seeds are collected directly from the bed. Large quantities of
seeds may reach the beach where they may be collected, although this type of collection
cannot be produced.

7. 5) Monitoring and evaluation.
The main aim of monitoring is to assess the growth performance of the sea grasses, to
assess whether the project is achieving the goals and objectives that had initially been
set, and to note the challenges and ways of addressing the challenges encountered by
the personnel or the sea grasses themselves.
The parameters to be monitored in restored sea grasses include;
• The number of species that were grown and established.
• The number of unestablished see grass seeds.
• The amount of trash accumulated at the beach adjacent to the sea grasses.
• The density of the established sea grasses.

8. • The cost of restoring and monitoring of the sea grasses.
• The overall characteristics of the rehabilitated sea grass site.
• Change in sea grass meadow area.
• Change in biomass or cover within those areas
• Significant shifts in species composition
• Changes in sediment characteristics and topography
• Light (measured as photosynthetic active radiation (PAR1))