Our seagrass research on television

The wonder world of seagrass meadows Climate saviour, nursery, coastal protection

Seagrass not only stores the largest sugar reserves on our planet - this plant protects beaches worldwide from erosion and, with its almost 80,000-year-old seagrass meadows, is perhaps the oldest living thing on earth. Seagrass meadows are nurseries and habitats for countless species; they clean the seawater like a gigantic sewage treatment plant. With these superpowers, seagrass can help to slow down global warming. The documentary accompanies leading seagrass researchers from the Mediterranean to the Baltic Sea.

Director:Florian Guthknecht

Origin:ZDF

 

At the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Marcel Kuypers' and Nicole Dubilier's departments are unraveling the mysteries of seagrass meadows. With astonishing discoveries: Not only on land, but also in the sea, microorganisms play a crucial role in the fitness, productivity and material flows of plants.

These are the opening words of a comprehensive article in the Max Planck Society's science magazine MaxPlanckResearch, presenting our diverse research on seagrasses. It deals with their role in the large elemental cycles of nitrogen and carbon as well as with their bacterial subtenants and what that has to do with soft drinks. A worthwhile read!

Here you can find the article as e-paper and pdf. You can also order the magazine from the Max Planck Society.

https://www.mpg.de/maxplanckforschung