Community Environment Network

About Seagrasses

Seagrasses are flowering plants that have adapted to living submerged in a marine environment. Seagrasses grow below the high tide level in the sheltered shallow waters of estuaries, generally in soft sediments like sand or mud. Australia has over half of the seagrass species found worldwide, and these grasses play a vital role in ecosystem functioning and maintaining healthy waterways.

Seagrass beds provide unique ecosystems within coastal locations such as estuaries, lakes and lagoons, and are vital environmentally and economically.

As a natural resource these areas are extremely productive, increasing plant production, oxygen and biomass to the ecosystem. Seagrass beds are also important nurseries and shelter areas for a variety of fauna. These are critical for the juvenile stages of many commercially important fish, providing huge economic benefits to Australia .

The presence of seagrass also improves water quality by decreasing sediment within the water column. With an extensive root system, seagrass beds cover the soft sediment in which they grow, laying into a ‘mat' covering otherwise unstable sediment. Seagrass plants also take in many nutrients and heavy metals entering waterways through the catchment storing and processing them for a number of uses. Seagrasses convert these nutrients and heavy metals into harmless organic matter that can be utilised by other marine flora and fauna.

Seagrass beds have declined dramatically in NSW as urbanisation has increased in many catchment areas.

Impacts from land clearing, urban development, agricultural activities as well as commercial activities and development have affected water quality and subsequently the health of seagrass. Contaminations from runoff into coastal waterways, and activities such as dredging and reclamation of seagrass beds have also taken their toll.

Currently the NSW government provides funding to expand knowledge and studies of seagrass through various grants schemes. As well as this many local councils are looking into ways seagrasses can be monitored using high tech devices such as Satellite Remote Sensing, and the NSW government is constantly formulating legislations and policies such as The Estuary Management Policy.

However there is presently no regional coordinated approach to monitor seagrasses throughout NSW. As the environment is constantly changing from one place to the next, and from one day to the next, there is a great need to conduct repeated monitoring in local areas so that these changes can be detected. By using Community Seagrass Monitoring we can “fill in” gaps that currently exist and use information collected as a tool for management decision in the future.

More information on seagrass species in NSW, Australia

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