Restoration of <i>Posidonia oceanica</i> Meadow Using Cuttings from an Area Impacted by Harbor Extension Project
In the Mediterranean Sea, restoration of marine habitats has mostly focused on the endemic seagrass <i>Posidonia oceanica</i>. Despite several transplanting experiments, large-scale projects are rare, and their success is poorly known. The present work describes a restoration project of...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-12-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/1/3 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832588298454827008 |
|---|---|
| author | Mario De Luca Luigi Piazzi Ivan Guala Maria Francesca Cinti Paolo Marras Arianna Pansini Federico Pinna Alessandra Puccini Antonio Santonastaso Myriam Stelletti Patrizia Stipcich Vincenzo Pascucci |
| author_facet | Mario De Luca Luigi Piazzi Ivan Guala Maria Francesca Cinti Paolo Marras Arianna Pansini Federico Pinna Alessandra Puccini Antonio Santonastaso Myriam Stelletti Patrizia Stipcich Vincenzo Pascucci |
| author_sort | Mario De Luca |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the Mediterranean Sea, restoration of marine habitats has mostly focused on the endemic seagrass <i>Posidonia oceanica</i>. Despite several transplanting experiments, large-scale projects are rare, and their success is poorly known. The present work describes a restoration project of a large, degraded area in northern Sardinia (Italy) using cuttings harvested from a donor meadow that was destined for destruction due to harbor expansion. The receiving site was selected through a multidisciplinary study including acoustic mapping, ROV surveys, sediment assessment, and analyses of satellite images across ten years to evaluate the site suitability. Plants were manually uprooted from the donor meadow and cuttings were selected and transplanted within 24 h by environmental engineering techniques. The cuttings were transplanted onto degradable mats of natural coconut nets coupled with a double-twist steel mesh and anchored to the bottom. Overall, 7000 patches, each containing 20 cuttings, were transplanted in three periods: June–July 2022, October–November 2022, and February–March 2023. One year after the restoration, all the patches were in situ, with an overall cutting survival of 59%. The results are comparable to those of previous small-scale projects using the same technique and also endorse its suitability for the restoration of large, degraded areas. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ae77f44439a749db9b87642009ca5094 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2077-1312 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-ae77f44439a749db9b87642009ca50942025-01-24T13:36:30ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122024-12-01131310.3390/jmse13010003Restoration of <i>Posidonia oceanica</i> Meadow Using Cuttings from an Area Impacted by Harbor Extension ProjectMario De Luca0Luigi Piazzi1Ivan Guala2Maria Francesca Cinti3Paolo Marras4Arianna Pansini5Federico Pinna6Alessandra Puccini7Antonio Santonastaso8Myriam Stelletti9Patrizia Stipcich10Vincenzo Pascucci11Department of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, ItalyDepartment of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, ItalyIMC—International Marine Centre, 09170 Oristano, ItalyDepartment of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, ItalyDepartment of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, ItalyDepartment of Chemical, Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, ItalyDepartment of Chemical, Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, ItalyDepartment of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, ItalyDepartment of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, ItalyDepartment of Chemical, Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, ItalyDepartment of Chemical, Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, ItalyDepartment of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, ItalyIn the Mediterranean Sea, restoration of marine habitats has mostly focused on the endemic seagrass <i>Posidonia oceanica</i>. Despite several transplanting experiments, large-scale projects are rare, and their success is poorly known. The present work describes a restoration project of a large, degraded area in northern Sardinia (Italy) using cuttings harvested from a donor meadow that was destined for destruction due to harbor expansion. The receiving site was selected through a multidisciplinary study including acoustic mapping, ROV surveys, sediment assessment, and analyses of satellite images across ten years to evaluate the site suitability. Plants were manually uprooted from the donor meadow and cuttings were selected and transplanted within 24 h by environmental engineering techniques. The cuttings were transplanted onto degradable mats of natural coconut nets coupled with a double-twist steel mesh and anchored to the bottom. Overall, 7000 patches, each containing 20 cuttings, were transplanted in three periods: June–July 2022, October–November 2022, and February–March 2023. One year after the restoration, all the patches were in situ, with an overall cutting survival of 59%. The results are comparable to those of previous small-scale projects using the same technique and also endorse its suitability for the restoration of large, degraded areas.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/1/3biodegradable matsenvironmental engineeringMediterranean Searecoveryseagrass transplantation |
| spellingShingle | Mario De Luca Luigi Piazzi Ivan Guala Maria Francesca Cinti Paolo Marras Arianna Pansini Federico Pinna Alessandra Puccini Antonio Santonastaso Myriam Stelletti Patrizia Stipcich Vincenzo Pascucci Restoration of <i>Posidonia oceanica</i> Meadow Using Cuttings from an Area Impacted by Harbor Extension Project Journal of Marine Science and Engineering biodegradable mats environmental engineering Mediterranean Sea recovery seagrass transplantation |
| title | Restoration of <i>Posidonia oceanica</i> Meadow Using Cuttings from an Area Impacted by Harbor Extension Project |
| title_full | Restoration of <i>Posidonia oceanica</i> Meadow Using Cuttings from an Area Impacted by Harbor Extension Project |
| title_fullStr | Restoration of <i>Posidonia oceanica</i> Meadow Using Cuttings from an Area Impacted by Harbor Extension Project |
| title_full_unstemmed | Restoration of <i>Posidonia oceanica</i> Meadow Using Cuttings from an Area Impacted by Harbor Extension Project |
| title_short | Restoration of <i>Posidonia oceanica</i> Meadow Using Cuttings from an Area Impacted by Harbor Extension Project |
| title_sort | restoration of i posidonia oceanica i meadow using cuttings from an area impacted by harbor extension project |
| topic | biodegradable mats environmental engineering Mediterranean Sea recovery seagrass transplantation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/1/3 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mariodeluca restorationofiposidoniaoceanicaimeadowusingcuttingsfromanareaimpactedbyharborextensionproject AT luigipiazzi restorationofiposidoniaoceanicaimeadowusingcuttingsfromanareaimpactedbyharborextensionproject AT ivanguala restorationofiposidoniaoceanicaimeadowusingcuttingsfromanareaimpactedbyharborextensionproject AT mariafrancescacinti restorationofiposidoniaoceanicaimeadowusingcuttingsfromanareaimpactedbyharborextensionproject AT paolomarras restorationofiposidoniaoceanicaimeadowusingcuttingsfromanareaimpactedbyharborextensionproject AT ariannapansini restorationofiposidoniaoceanicaimeadowusingcuttingsfromanareaimpactedbyharborextensionproject AT federicopinna restorationofiposidoniaoceanicaimeadowusingcuttingsfromanareaimpactedbyharborextensionproject AT alessandrapuccini restorationofiposidoniaoceanicaimeadowusingcuttingsfromanareaimpactedbyharborextensionproject AT antoniosantonastaso restorationofiposidoniaoceanicaimeadowusingcuttingsfromanareaimpactedbyharborextensionproject AT myriamstelletti restorationofiposidoniaoceanicaimeadowusingcuttingsfromanareaimpactedbyharborextensionproject AT patriziastipcich restorationofiposidoniaoceanicaimeadowusingcuttingsfromanareaimpactedbyharborextensionproject AT vincenzopascucci restorationofiposidoniaoceanicaimeadowusingcuttingsfromanareaimpactedbyharborextensionproject |