Balticsea 2020

New project: BalticSea2020 is funding a new project to restore bladder wrack

With funding from BalticSea2020, three researchers from Stockholm University's Baltic Sea Centre will be developing a manual that shows where and how bladder wrack can be restored along the Swedish coast. The manual will contain a list of factors or parameters needed for the bladder wrack to be able to recover and survive.

Bladder wrack is often described as the forest of the Baltic Sea. The plant species is a cornerstone of the Baltic Sea’s species-deficient ecosystem and functions as both habitat and shelter for many species of fish and as food for invertebrates. Eutrophication, emissions of pollutants or other sources of human interference have led to the depletion of bladder wrack or its total disappearance.

Three researchers from Stockholm University's Baltic Sea Centre will be developing a manual that shows where and how bladder wrack can be restored. The project named “Restoration of bladder wrack – a manual” will be undertaken in three phases, wherein they will focus on e.g. producing a compilation of literature, field studies and attempts to restore bladder wrack. The manual will serve primarily as a practical guide for how to restore bladder wrack and where it is appropriate to implement the measures. The manual is targeted at, for example, municipalities, county councils and the Water Management Association.

The project will be completed at the end of 2019, for presentation in 2020.

Read more about the project “Restoration of bladder wrack – a manual” here.

The project is led by:
Lena Kautsky, Professor Emeritus and Senior Advisor, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences and Stockholm University Baltic Sea Centre.
Susanne Qvarfordt, PhD. Researcher, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University/marine biologist and environmental consultant at the Swedish Water Ecologists AB,
Ellen Schagerström, PhD. Researcher, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University and Stockholm University Baltic Sea Centre.