Post by fish on Sept 29, 2022 10:24:16 GMT 12
A good article from NZ Geographic Magazine about kelp forests in the South Island.
Relevant to Jim's point about the rate of pine planting under the ETS is this exert below:
THE FUTURE OF our kelp is also linked to the way we treat the land. Once, the forests in New Zealand’s ocean were mirrored by lush forests on shore. When those trees were felled, soils began eroding. Since World War II, the intensification of farming—and its expansion into more marginal areas of hill country—has increased the amount of sediment running into the ocean. Today, when commercial pine forests are harvested, they leave behind expanses of bare, unconsolidated soil which, without proper management, also ends up heading for the sea, darkening the coastal waters.
“Kelps need certain qualities of light to reproduce,” says Schiel. “As you dump all this stuff into the coastal zone, the light quality and spectral qualities diminish quite considerably.”
And, as Hepburn has found, this sediment acts like a smothering blanket. “It covers seaweeds so they can’t photosynthesise as well. It also produces a film over the reef, so spores can’t attach and grow.”
www.nzgeo.com/stories/the-kelp/?source=homepage&fbclid=IwAR0Yo6-QYmwTELcA1nuSFc42J9lZrghFrxjHpi0Y80LX6Ltz4xnCKmTfXhM
Relevant to Jim's point about the rate of pine planting under the ETS is this exert below:
THE FUTURE OF our kelp is also linked to the way we treat the land. Once, the forests in New Zealand’s ocean were mirrored by lush forests on shore. When those trees were felled, soils began eroding. Since World War II, the intensification of farming—and its expansion into more marginal areas of hill country—has increased the amount of sediment running into the ocean. Today, when commercial pine forests are harvested, they leave behind expanses of bare, unconsolidated soil which, without proper management, also ends up heading for the sea, darkening the coastal waters.
“Kelps need certain qualities of light to reproduce,” says Schiel. “As you dump all this stuff into the coastal zone, the light quality and spectral qualities diminish quite considerably.”
And, as Hepburn has found, this sediment acts like a smothering blanket. “It covers seaweeds so they can’t photosynthesise as well. It also produces a film over the reef, so spores can’t attach and grow.”
www.nzgeo.com/stories/the-kelp/?source=homepage&fbclid=IwAR0Yo6-QYmwTELcA1nuSFc42J9lZrghFrxjHpi0Y80LX6Ltz4xnCKmTfXhM