Seagrass restoration

Since 2011, we have been involved in seed-based restoration of Zostera marina in the Dutch Wadden Sea. Over the years in various projects we have been collaborating with Universities and NGOs to restore seagrass beds. At first by using the BuDS method (buoy deployed seeding), but as seagrass restoration has proven to be very challenging we developed and tested various other methods to suit our needs. In the chain of dependencies the aim is to identify and reduce bottlenecks for restoration step by step by unraveling the process.

It turned out that winter-loss of seeds in the field is one of these bottlenecks. We therefore have developed a successful method to harvest and store seeds with unprecedented positive results. By combining these technological advancements for harvesting and storing seeds with large-scale field experiments and high-tech monitoring we contribute to seagrass restoration research. Step by step, these developments bring us closer to large-scale seagrass restoration.