7. Harvesting sods is most readily accomplished with a dive knife 

 or shovel inserted 6-8 in. into the substrate. A sod of seagrass is cut 

 out and carefully removed from the sediment to avoid damaging the plants 

 and to preserve the root-rhizome mat. Sod harvest necessitates some 

 disruption of the donor meadows. Sods should be cut in small, shovel-sized 

 sections from the meadow as widely dispersed as possible to facilitate 

 regrowth into the shovel hole. The harvested seagrass mat should be gently 

 rinsed free of sediment. Individual planting units from this material will 

 resemble the rhizomes in Figure 1 (C and D). 



Storage guidelines 



8. Aerial runners and mats of seagrass should be stored in ambient 

 seawater and processed into planting units within 36 hr. If possible, the 

 water in closed storage containers (plastic trashcans work well) should be 

 aerated; otherwise, replace the water frequently. For outdoor storage the 

 planting material can be retained in coarse mesh bags (typical nylon dive 

 bags work well) and hung overboard from a boat or pier. For prolonged 

 storage of 2-3 weeks, floating pens with open tops (for light) are 

 suggested. Setting the mats of seagrass into shallow, flowing seawater 

 tables works well and provides an ideal area for sorting and preparing 

 planting units. These submerged plants do not tolerate any exposure to 

 direct sun when out of the water; they should always be kept in ambient 

 seawater. 



Preparing Planting Units 



9. A planting unit (PU) consists of a section of aerial runner that 

 has at least 6 shoots and the apical meristem. Properly harvested aerial 

 runners will need no sorting prior to transplanting. If the plant material 

 was harvested by the sod method, planting units consisting of at least 3 



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