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The Amazon, Borneo, and Daintree are located in Asia. Many of the world's largest rainforests are known to us. The world's largest span of forests, the boreal forests stretching from Russia to Canada, are well known.
How many of us know about an underwater forest? Huge kelp and seaweed forests are hidden beneath the water. Few are given names. There are a lot of marine species in their canopies.
The Great African Seaforest is off the coast of southern Africa, while the Great Southern Reef is in Australia. There are a lot of underwater forests around the world.
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Our research has shown that they are extensive and productive. We discovered that the world's ocean forests cover an area twice the size of India.
Climate change and marine heatwaves threaten these seaweed forests. They are able to grow quickly and sequester carbon.
seaweeds are the type of seaweed that forms the underwater forests. The sun's energy and carbon dioxide are captured by seaweeds. The largest species grow tens of metres high and form forest canopies that sway as swells move through. A sense of constant movement is what makes swimming through one enjoyable.
Similar to trees on land, these seaweeds give a wide variety of marine organisms a place to call home. Large species such as sea-bamboo and giant kelp have gas-filled structures that help them create huge floating canopies. Strong stems are important for other species. Golden kelp on Australia's Great Southern Reef is another example.
The seaweed is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet. It has been difficult to estimate the size of their forests.
Satellites can be used to measure forests on land. It is much more complex under the water. Satellites can't measure underwater forests where they are found.
Millions of underwater records from scientific literature, online repository, local herbaria and citizen science initiatives were used to overcome this challenge.
The ocean forests cover between 6 million and 7.2 million square kilometres. The Amazon is smaller than that.
We looked at how productive the ocean forests are. There were no unified records. The seaweed growth rates were measured by scuba divers in hundreds of individual studies.
Ocean forests are more productive than wheat, rice and corn. The areas with the highest productivity are in the tropics. Ocean forests in these regions produce 2 to 11 times more food than crops.
The findings are positive. We can help meet the world's future food security. Seaweed farms can help boost sustainable development.
seaweeds are hungry for carbon dioxide They pull a lot of carbon from the atmosphere and the sea. Ocean forests may take up more carbon than the Amazon.
A marine heatwave has wiped out a swathe of the underwater kelp forest in Western Australia.
They might be able to play a role in changing the climate. seaweed carbon needs to be locked away from the atmosphere for a long time in order for carbon to be sequestered. Estimates show that seaweed could be sequestered in the deep sea. It's an area of intense research to know how much seaweed carbon is sequestered.
The extra heat trapped by the greenhouse gases has gone into the ocean.
The ocean forests are facing a lot of challenges. The disappearance of large expanses of ocean forests off Western Australia, eastern Canada, and California has resulted in the loss of habitat and carbon sequestration potential.
As sea ice and water temperatures warm, some parts of the world will see expansion of their ocean forests.
These overlooked forests are an important part of our coast. Most of the world's underwater forests are not well known.
Without significant efforts to improve our knowledge, it will not be possible to protect and conserve them.
Is it possible to save our cold water reef from hotter seas by breeding'super kelp'?
It was originally published on The Conversation
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