![]() These areas are such hotspots for life that many marine animals will interact with a kelp forest at least once during their lifetime. As dense kelp forests can dampen wave forces, these forests also create calmer microhabitats, allowing for species at different levels within the food chain to inhabit the area. Kelp forests have high levels of biodiversity because it creates three-dimensional structures under the water, which species can use for shelter and food. Kelp provides a wide range of vital services to people: Why Is Kelp Important to People and the Planet? These extensive ecosystems are usually found along coastlines in colder regions. Due to the impacts of climate change and increasingly warmer waters, there is likely to be a shift in kelp distribution toward the North and South Poles - something that is already being observed.Ī kelp forest off the coast of Monterey, Calif. Some of the largest forests are located along the California and Pacific Northwest coastlines, up to and including Canada and Alaska.īut kelp can also be found at tropical latitudes, such as in the Galapagos Islands and in deep seamounts. They are predominantly cool water species and can be found in temperate, Arctic and sub-Antarctic areas. Kelp forests are found along 25% to 30% of the world’s coastlines, making them the most extensive marine vegetated ecosystems in the world. This varied habitat makes these forests home to a diverse range of animals to live in or use for shelter and food. Kelp creates a unique multi-layered forest habitat with a canopy layer at the water’s surface and a connected network of shaded vegetation layers, known as an understory, between the branches of the holdfast on the ocean floor. What Is a Kelp Forest and Where are Kelp Forests Found? Illustration from Into the Blue by the United Nations Environment Programme. ![]() Some seaweed species have gas-filled bladders that allow them to form flexible floating canopies, whereas others extend into the water column or flow along the seafloor.Įach part of a kelp holds a specific purpose for not just ensuring its own life, stability and growth but for supporting a diverse number of organisms that use it for food and habitat. Kelp species are formed out of three main parts: a blade (or blades) that take in sunlight and nutrients from the surrounding water, a stipe that supports the blade(s) and a holdfast which anchors the organism to the ocean floor. Kelp, and seaweed more broadly, are a group of organisms that are largely aquatic and have photosynthetic capabilities, however the two diverged evolutionarily from plants millions of years ago.Ĭollectively, underwater seaweed forests stretch along the shallow coastal areas of the world, covering an area about the size of the Amazon rainforest. Seaweed refers to the thousands of red, green and brown species of algae that come in a variety of shapes and sizes which grow in different depths and environments.Īn important distinction to make is that seaweed and kelp, perhaps surprisingly, are not plants. Commonly described as a foundation species, kelp creates forest-like habitats fostering huge and diverse amounts of life, including sea snails, brittle stars, lobsters, various species of fish, seals, sea otters and more. ![]() Kelp is a subgroup of brown seaweed that grows in cold nutrient-rich waters. Here, using the insights from the new United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) Into the Blue: Securing a Sustainable Future for Kelp Forests report - the most comprehensive knowledge review on kelp published to date - we explore why these critical ecosystems are so important to people, nature and climate. However, over the last 50 years, climate change, poor water quality and overfishing have damaged 40% to 60% of kelp forests, threatening these ecosystems and the benefits they provide. The same research also highlights the importance of kelp forests in providing habitat for valuable fish and seafood species that supports local economies and jobs, all while protecting biodiversity. Kelp has long been used as a term to describe just over 100 species of large brown algae seaweeds that represent some of the most productive and diverse habitats on Earth.įrom providing nursery habitats and foraging grounds for a wide range of marine organisms, to critically contributing to a sense of identity for Indigenous and coastal peoples that have used it for generations as medicine, food and material, kelp is of vital importance to the planet and to people.Įvidence as to the importance of kelp globally is mounting with new research estimating that kelp forests generate approximately $500 billion annually in ecosystem services, such as capturing carbon and removing nutrient pollution such as nitrogen and phosphorous from the water column.
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