Installing kelp forests/seaweed beds for mitigation and adaptation against global warming: Korean Project Overview

Seaweed beds can serve as a significant carbon dioxide (CO2) sink while also satisfying global needs for food, fodder, fuel, and pharmaceutical products. The goal of our Korean Project has been to develop new baseline and monitoring methodologies for mitigation and adaptation within the context of climate change. Using innovative research approaches, we have established the Coastal CO2 Removal Belt (CCRB), which comprises both natural and man-made plant communities in the coastal region of southern Korea. Implemented on various spatial-temporal scales, this scheme promotes the removal of CO2 via marine forests. For example, when populated with the perennial brown alga Ecklonia, a pilot CCRB farm can draw down similar to 10 t of CO2 per ha per year. This success is manifested by an increment in biomass accumulations and a decrease in the amount of dissolved inorganic carbon in the water column.