Seagrass Conservation

Dr. Xuan-Vy Nguyen is Senior Researcher and Secretary of the Scientific Council at Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology’s Institute of Oceanography. Dr. Nguyen obtained his PhD in Marine Botany and brings more than 20 years of experience to this work. His research focuses on seagrass and algal biodiversity, distribution, conservation, and management. Dr. Jutta Papenbrock is Professor at Leibniz University Hannover’s Institute of Botany. In addition to her instructor role, Dr. Papenbrock also serves as Dean of Studies for the University’s Faculty of Natural Sciences, Chair of the Institute’s Study Commission Biology, and Managing Director of the Institute of Botany. She obtained her PhD in Plant Genetics from Leibniz University Hannover and received the German Botanical Society’s Strasburger Prize for her dissertation. Dr. Papenbrock brings more than 20 years of experience to this work. Her research focuses on seagrass and seaweed genetics, molecular biology, and stress resistance.

• Section I: Status quo – Knowledge on seagrass coverage and its changes over time1. Asia2. Africa3. North America4. South America5. Australia6. Europe and Middle East7. Threats and ChallengesSection II: Methods – Non-invasive methods for analyzing and characterizing seagrass meadows and their specific ecological functions8. Mapping and monitoring of seagrass by remote sensing9. Oxygen-free sediment10. Epiphytes in seagrass productivity11. Determination of genetic diversity and the relation to resilience in seagrass12. Ecosystem services delivered by seagrass bedsSection III: Ecosystem services of seagrass meadows under global change13. CO2 fixation and sequestration14. Coastal protection15. Current knowledge on biodiversity support, fisheries support, water purification, water sanitation16. Global conservation status of seagrassesSection IV: Solutions – Methods, success rates and improvement of seagrass restoration17. Case studies: Including successful and unsuccessful approaches of seagrass restoration18. Approaches to optimize seagrass seed germination and survival rate of seagrass seedlings19. Plantation: Selection of genotypes and techniques20. Determination of recovery rate21. Seagrass restoration and management22. Involvement of local and indigenous people including citizen science23. Epilogue: Encouragement for action