A modelled global distribution of the seagrass biome

Seagrasses form one of the most ecologically important and productive three-dimensional habitats in coastal seas. Knowing the global distribution of seagrass meadows is essential for conservation and blue carbon estimates. Here, we modelled the global distribution of seagrass using 43,037 occurrence records and 13 environmental variables within the modelling software MaxEnt at 30 arc sec resolution (c. 1 km at the equator). We found that sea surface temperature and distance from land contributed most in predicting seagrass distribution globally. Comparison of summing models for individual species, genera, and families found that a model combining all species occurrence records best fitted the known geographic distribution. In addition, this model fills geographic gaps in previous maps. We predicted the seagrass biome may occupy 1,646,788 km2, more than double previous global estimates. Applications for this dataset include blue carbon estimates, spatial planning such as for designing Marine Protected Areas, environmental sensitivity mapping, and monitoring of change in biome cover.