Applied Phycology

Algal Restoration and Rewilding

Today, algal habitats are facing extraordinary pressure from stressors including ocean warming and heatwaves, pollution, degradation, and industrial overexploitation (1). The decline of algal biomass and diversity has been increasingly reported throughout phycology literature, with studies reporting distribution shifts (2) and entire habitat loss (3) from both climatic and anthropogenic stressors. Restoration efforts have focused mainly on the temperate brown algal forest-forming species, with more recent advances aiming to restore economically important reds in the tropics (4), however, further initiatives are crucial to provide resilience to algal populations and ensure their continued provision of ecosystem services in future. 

Applied Phycology is actively seeking submissions which contribute toward the ‘Restoration and Rewilding’ of algae for a special issue to be published in 2026.  

We are seeking novel and creative contributions in the form of Original Research Articles, Reviews, and Opinion and Perspective pieces, and invite contributions that investigate ecological, biological, physiological, social, and innovative solutions towards Rewilding and Restoration of algae.  

We are interested in Restoration and Rewilding topics that include, but are not limited to: 

• Algal nursery / hatchery cultivation and field trials 

• Algal physiology 

• Conservation and biodiversity 

• Community-based restoration projects 

• Climate change and restoration efforts 

• Future proofing of algal strains 

• Innovations in algal restoration 

• Molecular studies 

• Restoration management 

References:

1. Hanley, M. E., Firth, L. B., & Foggo, A. (2024). Victim of changes? Marine macroalgae in a changing world. Annals of Botany, 133(1), 1-16.
2. Martínez, B., Radford, B., Thomsen, M. S., Connell, S. D., Carreño, F., Bradshaw, C. J., ... & Wernberg, T. (2018). Distribution models predict large contractions of habitat‐forming seaweeds in response to ocean warming. Diversity and Distributions, 24(10), 1350-1366.
3. Orfanidis, S., Rindi, F., Cebrian, E., Fraschetti, S., Nasto, I., Taskin, E., ... &Danovaro, R. (2021). Effects of natural and anthropogenic stressors on fucalean brown seaweeds across different spatial scales in the Mediterranean Sea. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, 658417. 
4. 4.Corrigan, S., Cottier-Cook, E.J., Lim, P.-E. & Brodie, J., 2025.The state of the world’s seaweeds. Natural History Museum, London. org/10.5519/4ln9oqk7