Global seagrass meadows are disappearing at an accelerating rate
In short: A global review pulling together 215 separate studies found that seagrass meadows have been shrinking by about 110 square kilometres every year since 1980, with nearly a third of the area ever recorded now gone. The pace of loss has also sped up, climbing from under 1% a year before 1940 to roughly 7% a year since 1990.
The authors note these losses are on a similar scale to declines seen in coral reefs, mangrove forests, and tropical rainforests, placing seagrasses among the most endangered habitats on the planet.
This picture comes from pooling data across 215 earlier published studies rather than new fieldwork, so its accuracy depends on how complete and consistent those original records were.
Why it matters: Seagrass meadows, which support fish, turtles, and coastal nutrient cycling, are vanishing at a quickening pace worldwide.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Research: Waycott et al. (2009). Accelerating loss of seagrasses across the globe threatens coastal ecosystems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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