Why the seagrass Zostera marina L. disappeared from the Dutch Waddensea

From the 1930’s onwards the once abundant eelgrass Zostera marina decreased to near extinction in the Dutch Waddensea. It was a combination of natural and anthropogenic causes which caused a bare alternative state. Work of three different sets of authors is reviewed. To gain insight in; the situation before the 1930’s and the anthropogenic causes which where on the base of the decline in eelgrass, such as the construction of a large dam, the article of de Jonge et al. (1996) was selected. Information on the natural treats, such as the wasting disease, is highlighted out Ralph & Short (2002). The present state of the Z. marina population was obtained out of the articles of van der Heide (mainly 2007). We wondered what the main culprit in the decline of Z. marina was. And what we could do to get it back. An overview of previous restoration schemes is provided and possibilities are given to improve new restoration efforts together with some suitable locations. In the end the author concludes that restoration within the Waddensea must be possible within a certain framework of parameters, such as turbidity and flow velocity.