Importance of Seaweed in the Climate Change—Seaweed Solution 21
(Graham et al. 2007; Reed and Brzezinski 2009). Based on these data, seaweeds could account for about
16.0 ~ 18.7% of the total marine-vegetation sink (Duarte et al. 2005; Krause-Jensen and Duarte 2016).
Because space is scarce on islands in the open ocean or in countries with relatively short coastlines,
the concept of “multiple use” must be addressed. The massive expansion of wind farms in offshore areas
of the North Sea have introduced the possibility of combining those turbines with the installation of
extensive facilities for shellfish and seaweed aquaculture (Buck and Buchholz 2004; Buck et al. 2004).
This might include the integration of fish cages within the foundation of wind farms as well as the
extractive components of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems (McVey and Buck 2008).
Offshore wind farms provide areas that are free of shipping traffic and are appropriately sized for farming.
Such sites present an ideal opportunity for devising and implementing a multiple-use concept (Buck et al.
2004; Michler-Cielucha et al. 2009). Furthermore, recent advances in mariculture techniques have led to
greater supplies of seaweeds as a “marine crop” (Chritchley and Ohno 1998).
The concept of Ocean Macroalgal Afforestation (OMA) has been introduced to reduce atmospheric
CO 2 and to produce biomethane and biocarbon dioxide. In fact, OMA could remove 53 billion tons of
CO 2 per year based on a calculation if macroalgae forests cover 9% of the ocean surface (N’Yeurta et al.
2012). According to a Korean survey from a small-scale experiment, seaweed farms could hold up to 16
tons of CO 2 ha
–1
yr
–1
(Chung et al. 2013).
Generally, the impact of climate change on the functioning of the world’s marine ecosystems
includes decreased ocean productivity, altered food web dynamics, reduced abundance of habitat-forming
species, shifting species distributions, and a greater incidence of disease (Hoegh-Guldberg and Bruno
2010). Consequently, the structure of this ecosystem directly and indirectly changes, and researchers do
not yet have a comprehensive understanding of those effects. For example, fluctuations in temperature
also influence general metabolic activities, the ratio of photosynthesis to respiration, and net primary
productivity by seaweed communities.
Seaweeds are the fundamental biota in building marine food webs, serving as habitat and nursery and
removing organic pollutants from the seawater. They are also affected by ocean warming and acidification
(Wernberg et al. 2011; Koch et al. 2013). Although changes in the assemblage and distribution of seaweeds
have been reported (Müller et al. 2009; Wernberg et al. 2011), it is sometimes difficult to conclude
that such events are caused by climate change due to natural variations and anthropogenic alterations
(Merzouk and Johnson 2011). Even though there are ever increasing concerns about these matters, they
are beyond the scope of this chapter.
Phycologists in Korea have initiated a project for possible applications of algae in carbon
sequestration and the Asian Pacific Phycological Association (APPA) launched a working group, “Asian
Network for Using Algae as a CO 2 Sink,” at the 4th Asian Pacific Phycological Forum at Bangkok in
2005. Since then, network members have cooperated in Side Events at the Conference of the Parties
(COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (http://unfccc.
int). After the Paris Agreement at the COP21 was adopted in December 2015, we are now in a new
global climate regime. In the same context, the APPA network has adopted a new paradigm including
adaptation measures of seaweeds and shifted to the Asian Network of Algae as Mitigation and Adaptation
Measures (ANAMAM). The second Wando Seaweed Expo hosted a special workshop on “ANAMAM”
and “Carbon Zero Seaweed Town (CØST)” on Apr. 14–15, 2017. The results of the workshop on the
seaweed solution as mitigation and adaptation measures are summarized in Fig. 1.
When the Korean project ‘GHG emissions reduction using seaweeds’ was conducted from 2006
to 2011, all the concept and purposes of the project were focused on the Kyoto Protocol and the Kyoto
Mechanism. Although we are in a new climate regime now, the concept and process of Korean project
in mitigation and adaptation measures should be the same as implementation of Nationally Determined
Contributions (NDCs) in the context of the Paris Agreement. As capacity-building of NDCs is a key
element for implementing the Paris Agreement, the seaweed solution should be considered in improving
and broadening knowledge to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.
In addition, there has been ever increasing attention on seaweeds in the context of climate change
as blue carbon (Krause-Jensen and Duarte 2016; Duarte et al. 2017) including seaweed aquaculture
beds (Sondak et al. 2017). The ecosystem services of seaweed beds and kelp forests become critical in
(Graham et al. 2007; Reed and Brzezinski 2009). Based on these data, seaweeds could account for about
16.0 ~ 18.7% of the total marine-vegetation sink (Duarte et al. 2005; Krause-Jensen and Duarte 2016).
Because space is scarce on islands in the open ocean or in countries with relatively short coastlines,
the concept of “multiple use” must be addressed. The massive expansion of wind farms in offshore areas
of the North Sea have introduced the possibility of combining those turbines with the installation of
extensive facilities for shellfish and seaweed aquaculture (Buck and Buchholz 2004; Buck et al. 2004).
This might include the integration of fish cages within the foundation of wind farms as well as the
extractive components of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems (McVey and Buck 2008).
Offshore wind farms provide areas that are free of shipping traffic and are appropriately sized for farming.
Such sites present an ideal opportunity for devising and implementing a multiple-use concept (Buck et al.
2004; Michler-Cielucha et al. 2009). Furthermore, recent advances in mariculture techniques have led to
greater supplies of seaweeds as a “marine crop” (Chritchley and Ohno 1998).
The concept of Ocean Macroalgal Afforestation (OMA) has been introduced to reduce atmospheric
CO 2 and to produce biomethane and biocarbon dioxide. In fact, OMA could remove 53 billion tons of
CO 2 per year based on a calculation if macroalgae forests cover 9% of the ocean surface (N’Yeurta et al.
2012). According to a Korean survey from a small-scale experiment, seaweed farms could hold up to 16
tons of CO 2 ha
–1
yr
–1
(Chung et al. 2013).
Generally, the impact of climate change on the functioning of the world’s marine ecosystems
includes decreased ocean productivity, altered food web dynamics, reduced abundance of habitat-forming
species, shifting species distributions, and a greater incidence of disease (Hoegh-Guldberg and Bruno
2010). Consequently, the structure of this ecosystem directly and indirectly changes, and researchers do
not yet have a comprehensive understanding of those effects. For example, fluctuations in temperature
also influence general metabolic activities, the ratio of photosynthesis to respiration, and net primary
productivity by seaweed communities.
Seaweeds are the fundamental biota in building marine food webs, serving as habitat and nursery and
removing organic pollutants from the seawater. They are also affected by ocean warming and acidification
(Wernberg et al. 2011; Koch et al. 2013). Although changes in the assemblage and distribution of seaweeds
have been reported (Müller et al. 2009; Wernberg et al. 2011), it is sometimes difficult to conclude
that such events are caused by climate change due to natural variations and anthropogenic alterations
(Merzouk and Johnson 2011). Even though there are ever increasing concerns about these matters, they
are beyond the scope of this chapter.
Phycologists in Korea have initiated a project for possible applications of algae in carbon
sequestration and the Asian Pacific Phycological Association (APPA) launched a working group, “Asian
Network for Using Algae as a CO 2 Sink,” at the 4th Asian Pacific Phycological Forum at Bangkok in
2005. Since then, network members have cooperated in Side Events at the Conference of the Parties
(COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (http://unfccc.
int). After the Paris Agreement at the COP21 was adopted in December 2015, we are now in a new
global climate regime. In the same context, the APPA network has adopted a new paradigm including
adaptation measures of seaweeds and shifted to the Asian Network of Algae as Mitigation and Adaptation
Measures (ANAMAM). The second Wando Seaweed Expo hosted a special workshop on “ANAMAM”
and “Carbon Zero Seaweed Town (CØST)” on Apr. 14–15, 2017. The results of the workshop on the
seaweed solution as mitigation and adaptation measures are summarized in Fig. 1.
When the Korean project ‘GHG emissions reduction using seaweeds’ was conducted from 2006
to 2011, all the concept and purposes of the project were focused on the Kyoto Protocol and the Kyoto
Mechanism. Although we are in a new climate regime now, the concept and process of Korean project
in mitigation and adaptation measures should be the same as implementation of Nationally Determined
Contributions (NDCs) in the context of the Paris Agreement. As capacity-building of NDCs is a key
element for implementing the Paris Agreement, the seaweed solution should be considered in improving
and broadening knowledge to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.
In addition, there has been ever increasing attention on seaweeds in the context of climate change
as blue carbon (Krause-Jensen and Duarte 2016; Duarte et al. 2017) including seaweed aquaculture
beds (Sondak et al. 2017). The ecosystem services of seaweed beds and kelp forests become critical in