Effects of Kelp Farm Line Spacing on Cultivated Alaria marginata

As demand for kelp products increases, kelp farmers will need to optimize lease space to increase yield and maintain profitability.

This study has three primary goals with respect to cultivating ribbon kelp: (1) to assess the effect of five different line spacings on the yield, specific growth rate, and sporophyte density; (2) to determine the impacts of line spacing on the phenotype (thallus length, width, and thickness); and (3) to determine the percent nitrogen, carbon, and the ratios of carbon to nitrogen within the cultivated biomass across different line spacing treatments.