麻豆淫院

Sea level rise will cause large areas of land to be flooded in the coming century. We could use these future sea-landscapes for the production of seagrass grains, argues environmental scientist Marieke van Katwijk in the journal .

Due to rising sea levels, worldwide, more and more lands will become influenced by seawater. This can be partly stopped or postponed, but in many places along the coast, seawater will sooner or later find a place in the landscape. Van Katwijk argues that we could use these future sea-landscapes for grain production by seagrass.

"The seeds of seagrass have been used for centuries by people from Mexico to make bread. In some places around the world, the natural production of seagrass seed is already comparable to the yield of rice. The Netherlands is ideally suited to take seagrass cultivation seriously, thanks to our expertise in coastal engineering and seed breeding: two technologies that are needed to create these kinds of grain fields in coastal landscapes."

Seagrass has declined sharply worldwide and has almost disappeared in the Netherlands. There are restoration procedures in place, but more needs to be done, according to the environmental scientist.

"Cultivation of seagrass grains should never be at the expense of the conservation and restoration of wild fields. But you could use the new cultivation techniques to also grow wild varieties for restoration programs."

The seeds of seagrass, in this case the species Zostera marina, are ideal for baking bread. Van Katwijk said, "I have read that it tastes good, a bit like rye, and that the nutritional values are excellent."

The big advantage of seagrass cultivation is that it does not require artificial fertilizers, pesticides or fresh water. There are also no CO₂ emissions. Rather, seagrass is known to store carbon in the soil. It also purifies the water.

Katwijk added, "In addition, similar to coral reefs, it will create a rich habitat for other organisms such as young fish and invertebrates. What's more, the detached leaves at the end of the growing season can, for example, be used as insulation material."

Of course, there are challenges, says the environmental scientist, but these can be solved in the long term.

"How are we going to shape such a new investment model and the regulations? We need to start thinking about that now. Technologically, there is also a lot of work to be done: seed production is still very low in most parts of the world. We also don't yet know how to grow it on a large scale, but we are actively working on this in the Netherlands and elsewhere."