Ecological essay shows climate-driven loss outpaces active restoration by 1,000- to 10,000-fold in seaweed forests, suggesting ecosystems may become net carbon sources.
Key Points
To assess whether active seaweed carbon removal interventions can outpace or keep up with climate-induced degradation of global seaweed forests.
Synthesis and quantitative comparison evaluating global rates of climate-driven seaweed forest decline against active restoration and recovery interventions.
Climate-induced seaweed forest loss diminishes carbon sink capacity three to four orders of magnitude (1,000× to 10,000×) faster than current active restoration efforts can rebuild it.
Accelerating climate pressures threaten to transition global seaweed ecosystems from net carbon sinks into net carbon sources.
Cite This Study
Filbee‐Dexter et al. (2026) studied this question.