Coastal ecosystems

In Porsangerfjorden in Finnmark, large-scale sea urchin removal has restored the kelp forest on a former marine desert landscape. Almost ten years after the sea urchins were removed, the project can report that millions of kelp plants and billions of small animals are still occurring.

The project will develop knowledge about the potential for ecological effects of offshore wind on benthic habitats in 17 areas identified by NVE.

The C-BLUES project is a Horizon Europe initiative focused on advancing knowledge, understanding, policy implementation and management of blue carbon ecosystems through EU-China cooperation.

The overarching goal of OOMYCOAST is to identify and characterise the diversity of oomycetes associated with three ecologically important species of rockweed in the intertidal and upper subtidal along the Norwegian coast: bladder wrack (Fucus vesiculosus), serrated wrack (Fucus serratus) and knotted wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum).

Project CLEAN addresses the cumulative impact and risk associated with multiple stressors in High North ecosystems.

In the FOODCOAST project we investigate the cultural heritage dimensions of food and the relationships between the food producers, their resources and the ecosystems that they depend on.

The national monitoring program "Ecosystem monitoring in coastal waters - ØKOKYST" under the auspices of the Norwegian Environment Agency consists of several sub-programs that are divided into ecoregions. The program is part of the national basic monitoring of the environmental status of coastal waters and aims to monitor and map the environmental status in selected areas along the Norwegian coast.

How are northern ecosystems affected by climate change, and how do different ecosystems affect each other? This 5-year Fram Centre research program aims to provide critical new knowledge related to: (1) Cross-ecosystem climate change impacts; and (2) How to best integrate cross-ecosystem linkages into cohesive management approaches.

This Horizon EU project will identify and develop innovative tools to monitor, map and describe marine organisms, from microbes to mammals and coastal vegetation, across different habitat types in European coastal and marine waters. OBAMA-NEXT will support sustainable marine conservation strategies and policies. Existing and emerging technologies are studied, including satellites, drones, ROVs, drop-video, acoustics, eDNA, and Citizen Sciences.

The section contributes to increased understanding of how marine ecosystems are affected by human activities and how they should be managed. We are commissioned and cooperate with the public administration on the development of mapping and monitoring methods and tools for classifying environmental status in coastal areas.