AU2020100070A4

AU2020100070A4 - Artificial algal reef taking algae adhesion and seagrass transplantation into account

Info

Publication number: AU2020100070A4
Application number: AU2020100070A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Xiaofan DENG; Yushan JIANG; Wentao Li; Peidong ZHANG
Original assignee: Ocean University of China
Current assignee: Ocean University of China
Priority date: 2020-01-14
Filing date: 2020-01-14
Publication date: 2020-02-20
Anticipated expiration: 2028-01-14

Abstract

ARTIFICIAL ALGAL REEF TAKING ALGAE ADHESION AND C) SEAGRASS TRANSPLANTATION INTO ACCOUNT The present invention relates to an artificial algal reef taking algae adhesion and seagrass transplantation into account. A reef body is a three-dimensional structure made of pervious concrete with a porosity of 15%-25%. Six sides of the reef body are hollow, and four side faces are provided with baffle plates. An area defined by the four baffle plates creates a gentle water a flow environment for seagrass plant transplantation. The baffle plates and the reef body are cast O into a whole. Both sides of the baffle plate are provided with binding holes for binding scallop shell cages or oyster shell cages, thereby further improving the algae adhesion effect and expanding functions of the algal reef. Fixing strips are disposed at the bottoms of four corners of the reef body and cast into a whole with the reef body to ensure the stability of the reef body after the reef body is placed into the sea. The artificial algal reef of the present invention thus constructed is low in cost, stable in structure and good in water permeability, and has rough surface, which is favorable for algae adhesion. The gentle water flow environment created by the baffle plates is favorable for survival of transplanted seagrass plants. After being placed into the sea, the reef body has high stability and multiple functions and can be expanded. cx4

Description

ARTIFICIAL ALGAL REEF TAKING ALGAE ADHESION AND

SEAGRASS TRANSPLANTATION INTO ACCOUNT

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an artificial algal reef, and in particular to an artificial algal reef taking algae adhesion and seagrass transplantation into account.

BACKGROUD

Any discussion of the background art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such background art is prior art nor that such background art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in the field in Australia or worldwide.

Seagrass is an aquatic monocotyledonous plant adapted to the marine environment, with developed roots and underground stems. A seagrass bed is one of the three typical ecosystems in coastal waters, which has important ecological functions and economic value. As the most important primary producer on the earth, the seagrass bed provides food and diverse habitats as well as spawning and sheltering grounds for many marine organisms. For coastal ecosystems, the seagrass bed plays a vital role in capturing sediments, stabilizing bottom sediments, preventing wind and fixing dikes, purifying water bodies, circulating nutrients, and fixing carbon (accounting for about 15% of the annual carbon fixation amount in the entire marine ecosystem), and is often used as a biological indicator species of water quality and ecosystem health.

Due to the changes of natural conditions and the interference of human activities, almost all seagrass beds in the world are in recession. In order to restore seagrass resources, researchers from various countries have developed many methods and technologies for seagrass restoration, of which transplantation of seagrass plants is the most widely used. However, it takes 1-2 months for sea grass plants to take root after transplantation. Due to the action of waves and tides, the seagrass plants are often washed away by waves or tides before taking root after transplantation, resulting in low survival rate of the seagrass plants after transplantation and poor recovery effect of the seagrass bed. Therefore, in the sea area where seagrass is transplanted, how to create a gentle water flow environment and then transplant seagrass plants to improve the survival rate of the transplanted seagrass plants and the restoration effect of the

2020100070 14 Jan 2020 seagrass bed is the key issue that needs to be urgently solved by the seagrass plant transplantation technology.

Algae, as an important primary producer in the ocean, play an important ecological role in water purification, carbon fixation, habitat construction, food supply for many organisms, and 5 the like. In order to restore algal farms, the commonly used method at present is to put artificial algal reels on the seabed. The artificial algal reef is an artificial structure set up in the water area. The artificial algal reef provides a substrate for attached growth of marine algae and enables the algae to grow rapidly, thus attracting aquatic animals such as fishes to the algae farm for feeding, reproduction, growth and development, and finally achieving the goal of optimizing the seabed 3 environment and protecting and proliferating fishery resources. However, the artificial algal reef currently used is usually made of stones or common concrete, which has high cost and poor algae adhesion effect, is only aimed at algal adhesion and has a single function. Therefore, it is very necessary to develop new materials and multifunctional artificial algal reefs.

SUMMARY

In order to overcome the defects of low survival rate of transplanted seagrass plants in the existing seagrass plant transplantation technology, and high cost, poor algae adhesion effect and single function of an existing artificial algal reef, the preferred embodiment of the present invention provides an artificial algal reef taking algae adhesion and seagrass transplantation into 3 account. The artificial algal reef not only has low cost and is beneficial to algae adhesion, but also can create a gentle water How environment, thereby improving the survival rate of transplanted seagrass plants.

The technical solution adopted by the preferred embodiment of the present invention for solving the technical problem is as follows: an artificial algal reef taking algae adhesion and 25 scagrass transplantation into account, including a reef body, where the reef body is a three-dimensional structure made of pervious concrete. Six sides of the reef body are hollow, and four side faces arc provided with baffle plates. An area defined by the four baffle plates creates a gentle water flow environment for seagrass plant transplantation. The baffle plates are made of pervious concrete and cast into a whole with the reef body. Both sides of the baffle 30 plate are provided with binding holes for binding scallop shell cages or oyster shell cages, thereby further improving the algae adhesion effect and expanding functions of the algal reef. Fixing strips are disposed at the bottoms of four corners of the reef body to ensure the stability of the reef body after the reef body is placed into the sea. The fixing strips are made of pervious concrete and cast into a whole with the reef body.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention has the beneficial effects that the

2020100070 14 Jan 2020 pervious concrete has a large void ratio, and the artificial algal reef thus constructed not only is low in cost, stable in structure and good in water permeability, but also has rough surface, which is favorable for algae adhesion. The gentle water flow environment created by the baffle plates is favorable for survival of transplanted seagrass plants. After being placed into the sea, the reef body has high stability and multiple functions and can be expanded.

According to another aspect of the invention there is disclosed an artificial algal reef taking algae adhesion and scagrass transplantation into account, comprising a reef body, wherein the reef body is a three-dimensional frame structure made of concrete, four side faces of the reef body arc each provided with a baffle plate, and the bottoms of four corners arc each provided 3 with a fixing strip.

Throughout this specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the words “comprise”, “comprises” and “comprising” will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated step or clement or group of steps or elements but not the exclusion of any other step or element or group of steps or elements.

Any one of the terms: “including” or “which includes” or “that includes” as used herein is also an open term that also means including at least the elements/features that follow the term, but not excluding others.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be further described below' with reference to an accompanying drawing and embodiments.

The figure is a stereoscopic schematic structural diagram of the present invention.

In the figure, a reef body 1, baffle plates 2, binding holes 3 and fixing strips 4 are provided.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In the figure, a reef body (1) of an artificial algal reef is constructed by pervious concrete. Six sides of the reef body arc hollow, and four side faces of the reef body are provided with baffle plates (2) which are cast into a whole with the reef body. Both sides of the baffle plate (2) arc provided with binding holes (3). Fixing strips (4) are disposed at the bottoms of four corners 30 of the reef body and cast into a whole with the reef body.

As an embodiment, the foregoing structure has a cube shape. The reef body is formed by pouring pervious concrete with a void ratio of 20%. Six sides of the reef body are hollow. Outer edge dimensions of a length, a width and a height of the reef body (excluding the fixing strips) are 50 cm, and a thickness is 10 cm. The baffle plates on the four sides of the reef body are also

2020100070 14 Jan 2020 made of pervious concrete with a void ratio of 20%. The baffle plate has a length of 30 cm, a height of 20 cm and a thickness of 10 cm. A lower edge of the baffle plate is flush with a bottom surface of the reef body to be castcd into a whole. Both sides of the baffle plate arc each provided with one binding hole. A distance between the center of the binding hole and the bottom surface of the reef body is 10 cm, and a distance between the center of the binding hole and an outer edge of the side face of the reef body is 5 cm. The binding hole has a diameter of 2 cm. The binding hole passes through the baffle plate from one side face of the reef body, and leads to the other opposite side face to bind a scallop shell cage or an oyster shell cage (the figure is omitted). The bottoms of the four corners of the reef body arc each provided with one 3 fixing strip, and the fixing strip is also made of pervious concrete with a void ratio of 20%.

Outer edge dimensions of a length, a width and a height of the fixing strip are also 10 cm. The fixing strips arc solids and are flush with the side face of the reef body and are cast into a whole with the reef body.

Algal reefs arc put in groups in the on-site sea area. Among the reef groups, each row has 5 individual spacing of 1-2 m and the row spacing is 3-5 m. 20-50 artificial algal reefs are put in each row, and each group has 10-20 rows. After the reef groups arc formed, scagrass plants arc transplanted in the area defined by four baffle plates of each reef body to form an artificial algal reef area taking algae adhesion and seagrass transplantation into account.

Claims

Claims

2020100070 14 Jan 2020

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An artificial algal reef taking algae adhesion and scagrass transplantation into account, comprising a reef body, wherein the reef body is a three-dimensional frame structure made of

5 concrete, four side faces of the reef body arc each provided with a baffle plate, and the bottoms of four comers are each provided with a fixing strip.
2. The artificial algal reef taking algae adhesion and scagrass transplantation into account according to claim 1, wherein the baffle plate is disposed on a lower portion of a side face of the reef body, and a lower edge of the baffle plate is flush with a bottom surface of the reef body.
3 3. The artificial algal reef taking algae adhesion and scagrass transplantation into account according to claim 1 or 2, wherein both sides of the baffle plate are provided with binding holes passing through the reef body and the baffle plate.
4. The artificial algal reef taking algae adhesion and seagrass transplantation into account according to claim 1, wherein the reef body, the bailie plates and the fixing strips are cast into a
5 whole.

5. The artificial algal reef taking algae adhesion and scagrass transplantation into account according to claim 1, wherein the reef body, the baffle plates and the fixing strips are made of pervious concrete with a porosity of 15%-25%.