ArticleCommunications biology2023
Iron limitation of kelp growth may prevent ocean afforestation.
Article in Communications biology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Origami-geometry-enabled seaweed cultivation for scalable carbon sequestration in open oceans.Environmental science and ecotechnology · 2026Article
- Efficacy of seaweed-based carbon dioxide removal reduced by iron limitation and nutrient competition with phytoplankton.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Ocean Carbon Dioxide Removal and Storage.Chemical reviews · 2026Review
- Light limitation and water velocity modify the impacts of simulated marine heatwaves on juvenile giant kelp.Journal of phycology · 2025Article
- Natural Kelp (Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and emissions reduction are essential to alleviate climate change. Ocean macroalgal afforestation (OMA) is a CDR method already undergoing field trials where nearshore kelps, on rafts, are purposefully grown offshore at scale. Dissolved iron (dFe) supply often limits oceanic phytoplankton growth, however this potentially rate-limiting factor is being overlooked in OMA discussions. Here, we determine the limiting dFe concentrations for growth and key physiological functions of a representative kelp species, Macrocystis pyrifera, considered as a promising candidate for OMA. dFe additions to oceanic seawater ranging 0.01-20.2 nM Fe' ‒ Fe' being the sum of dissolved inorganic Fe(III) species ‒ result in impaired physiological functions and kelp mortality. Kelp growth cannot be sustained at oceanic dFe concentrations, which are 1000-fold lower than required by M. pyrifera. OMA may require additional perturbation of offshore waters via dFe fertilisation.
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Registered trials
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