Beach wrack is primarily made up of seagrass and algae that has come loose from where it grows offshore and has washed up along the beach. This is often seen as nuisance for coastal communities and beach tourists, not only at the German Baltic Sea, but also in many other coasts around the world. However, there is also another side of this environment issue, where beach wrack can be seen as opportunity. Especially as part of the circular economy, where beach wrack can be used for different and beneficial purposes. This means a shift of perception is needed; from risk to opportunity.
This is the second E-Zine from the INNOVA Innovation Hub Kiel Bay, Germany and is highlighting the potential usage of beach wrack, and also explains the uncertainties of the availability and distribution of beach wrack as a resource as the climate is changing.
The examples used in the Ezine is mainly located in the Baltic Sea region but some interesting and relevant work from other areas are also discussed.
The changing climate of the Baltic Sea and its impact on the distribution and volume of beach wrack was the topic of an expert workshop organized in Eckernförde (near Kiel), in Germany in 2019.
It has been made clear from published research studies and interviews that the relationship between climate change and beach wrack is not evident.
The participants were asked to contribute to a sketch of the different aspect of the Baltic Sea coast. This sketch contained all the elements important to the topic of beach wrack.
The experts agreed that climate conditions such as temperature, sunshine and turbidity will have a strong influence on the distribution and volume of beach wrack.
However, how big an influence is not clear and it remains impossible to predictably quantify the change in beach wrack occurrence on the Baltic shoreline.
The POSIMA (Pilot region Baltic Sea coast Schleswig-Holstein: Initiation of a value chain beach wrack as a measure for adaptation to climate change) project, in cooperation with INNOVA developed an informative videos series on beach wrack and seagrass.
The series ‘Seagrass & Co.’ deals with different aspects of the problems and solutions of beach wrack and seagrass at the Baltic coast of Schleswig-Holstein.
Throughout the E-Zine, we will present some of the very relevant video material.
The wise use of beach wrack (or components thereof) is an activity that could contribute to a “circular economy” where this naturally occurring organic material becomes a net benefit rather than a loss. The videos from ‘Seagrass & Co’ series portray the new beach wrack entrepreneurs.
In Video episode #3: ‘Seagrass for cozy nights’, the focus in on the small business called ‘Strandmanufaktur’. This small company uses seagrass to produce hypoallergenic pillows and mattresses. Video #6 ‘Insulating with seagrass’, is an interview with an architect and a seagrass trader to discuss the possibilities of introducing seagrass as an alternative to common ecological building materials.
These two videos are a good example of ‘circular economy’ in the context of beach wrack and seagrass.
These two videos are a good example of ‘circular economy’ in the context of beach wrack and seagrass. The aspects if wise beach management and circular economy are also topics in the research projects POSIMA and CONTRA.
More information on the POSIMA and CONTRA projects can be found in the attached full version of the Ezine in PDF format.
Developing climate services for the Kiel Bay INNOVA innovation hub is intended to support management of the beach wrack. The work in INNOVA aims to understand the underlying relationship between beach wrack and climatic factors. Many scientific activities and initiatives are on-going, In the videos researchers from Christian Albrecht University (CAU) in Kiel Bay were interviewed, and an expert from GEOMAR in Kiel explains the ecological functions of seagrass meadows and beach wrack habitats.
Blue carbon and beach wrack
Blue carbon – a catchphrase coined in the last 10 years, describes coastal carbon‐rich ecosystems, such as mangroves, saltmarshes and seagrass meadows. The coastal blue carbon ecosystem can help mitigate effects of climate change by sequestering and storing carbon dioxide (Herr et al. 2017). Globally, seagrass meadows only cover a small area of the ocean sea floor (ca 0.1 to 0.2%), but their carbon sink capacity may account for up to 18% of the total oceanic carbon burial. The enormous carbon sink capacity can be explained by the carbon sequestration, meaning the capture and storage of carbon in sediments in the timescales of millennia. The Baltic has an estimated seagrass meadow cover of around 1500–2000 km2. However, over the last decades and centuries, the area of seagrass meadows has declined by 67%.
Human impacts such as pollution causing eutrophication, dredging and climate-change are causing 7% of global seagrass losses (by area) per year. The decline of marine landscape is a major global crisis and key ecosystems services such as commercial fisheries, coastal nutrient filtering, wave attenuation, coastal protection, biodiversity and carbon sequestration are lost for the next generation.
The goal of the Danish led project TRANSPLANT (large scale eelgrass transplantation), is to conduct large scale transplantation of seagrass in bare and shallow coastal areas. Seagrass meadows have been successful restored by transplantation. This method consists in transplanting shoots to chess-like plots of 4m2 but up to 0.5 ha. and is obtaining great success in seagrass restoration.
Seagrass transplantation and meadow restoration is also taking place in other coastal areas e.g. ‘Seagrass Ocean Rescue‘ project in the UK, and in locations of the Chesapeake Bay area of the US (Virginia Institute of Marine Science).
Besides the Baltic Sea, beach wrack also presents a major challenge in other parts of the world. Since 2011 large quantities of Sargassum, another species of seaweed (algae) washes up on Caribbean shores. Sargassum quickly piles up on the beaches in very large quantities. In the case of Sargassum, the rotting of the organic material causes a foul odour which also has potential health risks and negatively influences the attractiveness of beaches for tourism. Several factors could explain the proliferation of Sargassum in recent years. Climate change (with warmer temperatures and change of sea currents) together with a surplus of nutrients from agricultural fertilizers and wastewater in the tropical Atlantic area is one possible reason for the proliferation of the algae.
Sargassum also affects the popular shores of the small islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. These French West Indies islands are INNOVA case studies. In October 2019, an ‘International Conference on Sargassum’ was hosted in Guadeloupe. The conference laid the groundwork for efficient and pragmatic cooperation to provide functional and operational responses to the stranding of Sargassum.
In summary, beach wrack affects coastal areas around the globe, not only the German Baltic Sea. In most of these locations where beach wrack is common it is often seen as nuisance for coastal communities and beach tourists. However, there is also another more positive side to this story.
Beach wrack can be seen as a common and cheap natural resource that offers many opportunities for exploitation. As part of the circular economy, beach wrack can be used for several different and beneficial purposes.
A shift of perception of the usefulness of beach wrack seems possible and is needed: from risk and loss to opportunity and benefit. This E-Zine presented some views on the potential benefit of the use of beach wrack. It also highlighted the uncertainties of relying on the availability of beach wrack as a resource under a changing climate.
Edited for the Ezine format by
Fokke de Jong & Wim Timmermans (Wageningen Environmental Research), Louis Celliers (GERICS)
And additional input was received from:
Jane E Hofmann (EUCC – Die Küsten Union Deutschland e.V.; project CONTRA)
Cintia Organo Quintana, Troels Lange, Rune Steinfurth and Nele S. Wendländer (University of Southern Denmark; project TRANSPLANT)
Jérôme Roch (ADEME Guadeloupe; SARGEXPO)
Horst Sterr (University Kiel; project POSIMA)
Blauwdruk Publishers
April 2020