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Evaluation of different measures and metrics for Kelp restoration MRV in Portugal

Analyze vast amounts of data to optimize kelp detection, estimate biomass, and develop metrics for assessing biodiversity in large-scale kelp restoration projects

This work was performed in response to SeaForester’s need for scalable and cost-effective monitoring solutions for large scale kelp restoration.  Cosma continue to exchange further with SeaForester’s team to advance this crucial project and meet their needs.

Existing kelp forest off the coast of Peniche, Portugal.

As part of this study, two surveys of 1 hectare each were conducted over an existing and a newly planted kelp area offshore Portugal.

For this, several underwater drones were deployed and covered the entire area to ensure complete and thorough coverage of the study area.

Newly planted kelp area off the coast of Cascais, Portugal. Arrows indicate the stones used for deploying young kelps, and the circle highlights a young kelp seedling.

Cosma and SeaForester analyzed this trove of data to :
— Define the optimum resolution for automatic detection of kelps and other species of interest;
— Define a methodology for kelp forest biomass estimation;
— Define metrics for biodiversity assessments.