Development of kelp habitat banks for the British Columbia forestry sector

林业是温哥华岛上重要的经济产业，养活了成千上万的家庭。 现代伐木做法寻求最大限度地减少对环境的影响；然而，陆地和海洋生境 在不列颠哥伦比亚省(BC)，伐木造成的退化仍然是一个挑战。栖息地银行是一个重要的工具 林业部门用来补偿这些环境影响。在这个项目中，NSERC将支持 北岛学院(NIC)和M.C.Wright and Associates(MCWA)，与BC木材销售公司合作 (BCT)，为林业部门种植的海带床开发一种创新类型的栖息地银行。天然海带 为许多不同物种提供食物和栖息地，同时改善水质，因此具有重大意义 恢复退化的海洋栖息地的潜力。在NSERC项目中完成的工作的基础上 项目，这个ARD项目将测试三种不同的海带种植技术在周围地点的效果 温哥华岛和邻近的卑诗省大陆：1)水平延长线，在海带水产养殖中常见 行业；2)垂直落线，也可作为碎石帷幕；3)播种的岩石 海底是挪威最近开发的一项技术。将对三种海藻进行试验，全部 它们具有商业价值，是不列颠哥伦比亚省原产的，它们的生产率将进行比较 到未种植的(自然播种的)对照。现场条件将通过潜水调查和数据记录器进行评估。 该项目将在种植技术方面为海带栖息地银行的发展提供实用的见解， 海带种类，以及成功或不成功的场地条件。结果将立即公布 由行业合作伙伴和可能的其他林业公司实施，以建立新的海带栖息地银行 沿着海岸。

Forestry is an economically important industry on Vancouver Island that supports thousands of families. Modern logging practices seek to minimize environmental impacts; however, terrestrial and marine habitat degradation from logging remains a challenge in British Columbia (BC). Habitat banks are an important tool used by the forestry sector to compensate for these environmental impacts. In this project, NSERC will support North Island College (NIC) and M.C. Wright and Associates (MCWA), in collaboration with BC Timber Sales (BCTS), to develop an innovative type of habitat bank for the forestry sector - planted kelp beds. Kelp naturally provides food and habitat for many different species while improving water quality, and thus holds significant potential to rehabilitate degraded marine habitat. Building on the work completed in an NSERC Engage project, this ARD project will test the efficacy of three different kelp planting techniques at sites around Vancouver Island and the adjacent BC mainland: 1) horizontal longlines, common in the kelp aquaculture industry; 2) vertical drop lines, which may also act as a debris curtain; and 3) seeded rock that is out-planted on the ocean floor, a technique that was recently developed in Norway. Three kelp species will be trialed, all of which are commercially valuable and indigenous to British Columbia, and their productivity will be compared to unplanted (naturally seeded) controls. Site conditions will be assessed through dive surveys and data loggers. This project will provide practical insights for kelp habitat bank development in terms of planting techniques, kelp species, and site conditions that were successful or unsuccessful. Results will be immediately implemented by the industry partners and possibly other forestry companies to build new kelp habitat banks along the coast.