Seagrass meadows are important ecosystems that fulfil numerous functions for humans, but are also endangered by them. Seagrass growth occurs in a feedback loop in which existing seagrass dampens waves and currents and reduces water turbidity. This improves the growth conditions for further seagrass. However, without existing seagrass, reintroduction is almost impossible. Over the next four years, employees from Braunschweig University of Technology, Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Leibniz Universität Hannover, the Dutch Institute of Marine Research and the company Soiltec GmbH will therefore be developing an artificial seagrass that will create good growing conditions for seagrass, thereby breaking the vicious circle of reintroduction. The artificial seagrass will consist exclusively of biodegradable materials so that a purely natural seagrass meadow is created in the long term. In addition, the project team will investigate which areas in the German North Sea are particularly suitable for the reintroduction of seagrass in order to be able to start a first attempt at reintroduction with the help of biodegradable artificial meadows in a follow-up project.
Project Lead Maike Paul, PhD (LU Hannover), Teilprojekt: Prof. Dr. Boris Schröder-Esselbach
Team Jana Carus
External Cooperation Partners Moritz Thom (FZK), Prof. Dr. Hans-Josef Endres, Dr. Carmen Arndt, Hannah Behnsen (Hochschule Hannover Institut für Biokunststoffe und Bioverbundwerkstoffe), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Torsten Schlurmann, Dr.-Ing. Jan Visscher, Raúl Villanueva (LUH Ludwig-Franzius-Institut für Wasserbau, Ästuar- und Küsteningenieurwesen), Sven Adamietz (Soiltec GmbH)
Duration 2016-2020
Funding Body MWK, Volkswagenstiftung