Conclusions
Studies of kelp forests in Ireland are historically rare and contain
mostly qualitative information. Kelp records with georeferenced data
points date back to 1913 and continued over the decades, with a pulse in
records from the 1990s onward. Most records are single sightings,
indicating that, either people do not record multiple sightings of the
same kelp forest or many regions are not revisited. Recording effort
should move towards documenting kelp ecosystems (presence of a forest)
as well as abundance of ‘indicator species’ within using standardised
methodology. This would boost evidence that kelp forests are indicators
of good environmental status and could be used operationalise MSFD
legislation. Maintaining resilience of kelp forests and their associated
species is important not only for the ecosystems, but the services they
provide to civilisation, which can be achieved through monitoring
habitats and management of stressors (Krumhansl et al., 2016).
Development of a remote sensing mapping tool (via satellite or
otherwise) would aid in monitoring the distribution kelp forests
distributions.