A seagrass replanting project underway in the UK will plant 4.9 acres of seagrass, or one million seeds, off the coast of Wales. Coordinated by WWF, Sky Ocean Rescue and Swansea University, the project aims to regenerate the UK's seagrass forests which have depleted by 92 per cent over the last 100 years.

The plantings will also harness the carbon-capturing potential of seagrass meadows which can remove carbon from the atmosphere 35 times more quickly than tropical rainforests according to WWF.

These ecosystems account for 10 per cent of annual ocean carbon storage, protect coasts from erosion, provide habitat and clean the ocean by absorbing polluting nutrients. A 10,000 metre square area of seagrass can support 80,000 fish and over a million invertebrates

"We wouldn't necessarily think that seagrass is something that can store carbon 35 times faster than a tropical forest," WWF's Jenny Oates told BBC News.

"So actually we can do something right here in the UK to address the climate emergency."

If the project is successful it will be replicated all around the UK coast.

Story via BBC News.

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