PROJECT HIGHLIGHT
Current efforts to restore kelp can only succeed if we understand the conditions kelps need to thrive. This project will create a forecasting tool for understanding future states of California’s kelp forests and to enable timely decision-making for kelp restoration.
PROJECT SUMMARY
California suffered a massive loss of kelp during a prolonged marine heatwave in 2014-2016, causing devastating ecological and economic consequences. Despite a return to favorable ocean conditions, kelp forests have not recovered in many locations.
This project will investigate at which locations along the California coast kelp can survive long-term under changing climate conditions. It also aims to identify monthly and seasonal factors in the environment that help or hinder kelp restoration. The project will develop tools that forecast the best timing and location for kelp restoration — similar to the rainfall and temperature forecasting tools that farmers use to make strategic decisions about planting and harvesting crops.
Having such forecasting tools available will allow resource managers to quickly decide when and where they should focus on restoration or protect existing or restored kelp against worsening conditions. It will enable them to be proactive, instead of reactive, in protecting and restoring kelp ecosystems in California.