Barrientos, S., et al., “Paradoxical failure of Laminaria ochroleuca (Laminariales, Phaeophyceae) to consolidate a kelp forest inside a Marine National Park”, European Journal of Phycology, 2022.
This study examines why a kelp forest failed to recover inside a Marine National Park, despite strict protection from human activities. Comparing kelp populations inside and outside the MPA in northwest Spain, the authors found that healthy, stable kelp canopies persisted outside the protected area, while kelp inside the MPA repeatedly failed to form a canopy. The decline inside the MPA was not caused by climate, water quality or lack of reproduction, but by intense grazing pressure, which prevented young kelp from surviving long enough to mature. As a result, the protected area remained locked in a degraded state, even though harvesting was banned and environmental conditions were suitable. The study highlights a clear “protection paradox”, showing that MPAs alone do not automatically restore ecosystems, and that effective management must consider food-web dynamics, grazing pressure and active interventions, rather than relying on protection status alone.
