Description: The MAC-RODO project successfully achieved its objective of assessing the capacity of rhodolith bottoms to store carbon, contributing to the understanding of Blue Carbon sequestration in the Macaronesia region. Despite initial delays due to the global pandemic, all planned objectives and results were accomplished, with an extension allowing for additional activities enhancing knowledge of rhodolith seabeds. Scientific outputs provided valuable insights into ecological processes in and around rhodolith beds, aiding ecosystem management and conservation efforts. Stakeholder engagement was robust, involving local stakeholders, educational institutions, and international NGOs to raise awareness of rhodolith beds’ ecological importance and threats. The project fostered collaborations between researchers in the Canary Islands and Madeira and served as a catalyst for a national research project, POPCORN, expanding on MAC-RODO’s findings. Lessons learned underscored the importance of multidisciplinary research teams and broader sampling approaches for similar projects, with recommendations to embrace such approaches in future activities. Despite moderate impact in regional media, public events revealed a general lack of knowledge about rhodolith habitats, highlighting the need for continued awareness efforts. MAC-RODO’s outcomes will serve as a baseline for future research projects and inform ecosystem management strategies at an archipelago scale, with the project’s approach and lessons learned guiding future activities in other regions.
Duration: 16 months
