Kelp forests
Kelp forests are underwater ecosystems characterized by a high density of kelp, a type macroalgae. They are many different species of kelp, reaching a certain height, thus composing the different ''levels'' of the forest. Kelp forests are found in many coastlines around the world, and host a rich biodiversity of organisms.
Dive down to explore!
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Only the tallest kelp species, like giant kelp can reach the surface.
Sea otters hold onto them to not drift away when sleeping!
In this area where light penetrates, lives the planktonic life.
Canopy and water column
Kelp can reach up to 50 m (175 ft) in and more .
They stand still using pneumatocysts, gas filled balloons at the base of their blades.
Fishing birds, like cormorants, feed on the many fish attracted by the forest.
By their photosynthetic activity, kelp forests can help fix dissolute carbon dioxide (CO2) from the ocean. When pieces of kelp detach and sink to the ocean floor, the CO2 can then be stored many years!
Restoring and protecting kelp forest can thus be a way to diminish global atmospheric GHG quantities, by fixing a part of it in the ocean floor.
Understory
Below the canopy starts the understory, another level of the forest, that sees a diversification of the algae species.
Juveniles and invertebrates such as snail species find shelter and food between the blades
At a deeper level, we start to see a
denser forest with an abundance
of shorter kelp species.
Some animals can travel up and down the different levels of the forest. For example, seals often dive to feed on fish, but are resting at the surface level.
Lot of fish species lives and feeds on the kelp. It attracts apex predators, like the blue shark (Prionace glauca)
By their photosynthetic activity, kelp forests can help fix dissolute CO2 from the ocean. When pieces of kelp detach and sink to the ocean floor, the CO2 can then be stored many years!
Restoring and protecting kelp forest can thus be a way to disminish global GHG emissions.
At Carbon lagoon, we ease up the process of restoring by helping you set up your project and then quantify how much carbon was stored. This way, you can show the world trusted and rigorous data, and earn financing through carbon credits.
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The deeper we dive, the rarer is the sunlight. Shadow species start to be visible in the entanglements of the forest. For example, the giant octopus.
Smaller species of kelp, are few meters high and doesn't reach the surface. They make up another level of the kelp forest. Other types of algae also thrive in the shadows of the above levels.
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Sea urchins are efficient grazers.
They feed on the kelp and can attack its holdfast, the strong part maintaining it on the ocean floor. When there is an imbalance in the kelp ecosystem, an urchin overpopulation can lead to the disappearing of the whole forest.
Forest floor
At the very bottom of the kelp forest , on the ocean floor, live some decomposer species. They break down organic matter from dead organisms, like whale carcasses.