When talking about forests, the vast expanses of land covered by ancient trees often come to mind. Great examples like the Amazon, the huge redwood forests of North America, and how can we forget the African forests of the Congo, which are home to an impressive diversity, are some of the most important ones on our planet. However, we tend to forget the existence of underwater forests, with their algae over tens of meters high, which capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere just like their terrestrial counterparts.
Hidden underwater, in a world that seems completely dreamlike, lives the underwater forests with their dancing algae that undulate to the rhythm of the waves. They are formed by macroalgae, which are a type of seaweed, although as their name says, they have a macroscopic size and are huge to the eye.
Larger than the Amazon
There are large extensions of marine forests, whose canopies are home to a large number of living beings. However, they have not been extensively studied, and it is believed that there is a large number of them under the oceanic waters that are still unknown. The most important ones known so far are the Great African Marine Forest off the southern coasts of Africa. The Great Southern Reef, located in Australia, is another of the most recognized underwater forests.
Like terrestrial forests, underwater kelp forests are essential sources of food and nutrients for their ecosystem. They are home to species such as sea bamboo and giant kelp that are capable of growing tens of meters and, in turn, are home to hundreds of species of fish, crustaceans, and marine organisms.
This is why it is of vital importance to study this type of ecosystem, which until now has been little studied. On land, the growth or decline of forested areas can be observed through satellite views, but underwater the matter is much more complicated. The only thing that researchers have to make estimates about underwater forests are historical records, scientific literature, and citizen science initiatives.
Based on this information, scientists estimate that there are about 7.2 million square kilometers of underwater forests in the world’s oceans. This is an extension much larger than that of Amazon.
They also sequester carbon dioxide
Marine macroalgae are photosynthetic beings with one of the most extensive growth rates of all, which means only one thing; the more they grow, the more they hunger for large amounts of carbon dioxide. In that sense, they are regions that, like terrestrial forests, sequester carbon dioxide and help maintain planetary balance. Research suggests that marine forests can store as much carbon as the Amazon, so they need to be protected.
Unfortunately, they are facing the same situation as terrestrial forests, the great heat waves that are also changing the temperature of the oceans. Substantial efforts are needed to generate more research in this regard and, in this way, to preserve the underwater forests.
Story originally published in Spanish in Ecoosfera
