Seaweed and climate change: A mapping review

Thirukanthan Chandra Segaran; Mohamad Nor Azra; Kiki Syaputri Handayani; Fathurrahman Lananan; Juntian Xu

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106216

Seaweed and climate change: A mapping review

Mar Environ Res. 2023 Nov:192:106216. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106216. Epub 2023 Oct 18.

Authors

Thirukanthan Chandra Segaran¹, Mohamad Nor Azra², Kiki Syaputri Handayani³, Fathurrahman Lananan⁴, Juntian Xu⁵

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Climate Adaptation and Marine Biotechnology (ICAMB), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Kuala Nerus 21030, Terengganu, Malaysia. Electronic address: thiru@umt.edu.my.
² Institute of Climate Adaptation and Marine Biotechnology (ICAMB), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Kuala Nerus 21030, Terengganu, Malaysia; Research Center for Marine and Land Bioindustry, Earth Sciences and Maritime Organization, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Lombok 83352, Indonesia. Electronic address: azramn@umt.edu.my.
³ Research Center for Marine and Land Bioindustry, Earth Sciences and Maritime Organization, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Lombok 83352, Indonesia. Electronic address: kiki004@brin.go.id.
⁴ East Coast Environmental Research Institute, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Gong Badak Campus, Kuala Nerus 21300, Terengganu, Malaysia. Electronic address: fathurrahman@unisza.edu.my.
⁵ School of Marine Science and Fisheries, Jiangsu Ocean University, No. 59 Cangwu Road, Haizhou District, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: jtxu@jou.edu.cn.

PMID: 37891025
DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106216

Abstract

Seaweed has garnered increasing interest due to its capacity to mitigate climate change by curbing carbon emissions from agriculture, as well as its potential to serve as a supplement or alternative for dietary, livestock feed, or fuel source production. Moreover, seaweed is regarded as one of the earliest plant forms to have evolved on Earth. Owing to the extensive body of literature available and the uncertainty surrounding the future trajectory of seaweed research under evolving climate conditions, this review scrutinizes the structure, dynamics, and progression of the literature pertaining to seaweed and climate change. This analysis is grounded in the Web of Science Core Collection database, augmented by CiteSpace software. Furthermore, we discuss the productivity and influence of individual researchers, research organizations, countries, and scientific journals. To date, there have been 8047 articles published globally (after a series of filters and exclusions), with a notable upswing in publication frequency since 2018. The USA, China, and Australia are among the leading countries contributing to this research area. Our findings reveal that current research on seaweed and climate change encompasses 13 distinct research clusters, including "marine heatwave", "temperate estuary", "ocean acidification", and "macroalgal bloom". The most frequently cited keywords are "climate change", "biomass", "community", and "photosynthesis". The seaweed species most commonly referenced in relation to climate change include Gracilaria sp., Sargassum sp., Ecklonia maxima, and Macrocystis pyrifera. These results provide valuable guidance for shaping the direction of specialized topics concerning marine biodiversity under shifting climate conditions. We propose that seaweed production may be compromised during prolonged episodes of reduced water availability, emphasizing the need to formulate strategies to guarantee its continued viability. This article offers fresh perspectives on the analysis of seaweed research in the context of impending climate change.

Keywords: Ecklonia maxima; Eutrophication; Macrocystis pyrifera; Photosynthesis; Phytoplankton; Rhodophyta.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Biodiversity
Biomass
Climate Change
Estuaries
Seaweed*