Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Title

Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences

Volume

129

Issue

12

Publisher

AGU

School

Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research / School of Science

RAS ID

77433

Funders

Australian Research Council / Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación / Agencia Española de Investigación / Agencia Estatal de Investigación

Grant Number

ARC Numbers : DE170101524, PID2020‐117639GB‐100

Comments

Apostolaki, E. T., Lavery, P. S., Litsi‐Mizan, V., Serrano, E., Inostroza, K., Gerakaris, V., ... & Serrano, O. (2024). Patterns of carbon and nitrogen accumulation in seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) meadows of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 129(12). https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JG008163

Abstract

The variability in stocks and accumulation rates of organic carbon (Corg), nitrogen (N), and carbonate (CaCO3) was studied in fifteen Posidonia oceanica meadows spread throughout the South Aegean Sea (Greece). In addition, the abiotic and biotic drivers determining the pattern of variability in the accumulation rates were assessed by exploring the influence of sediment characteristics, seagrass traits, and environmental settings. The meadows supported on average (±STDEV) 14.6 ± 5.0 kg Corg m−2, 0.47 ± 0.17 kg N m−2, and 249 ± 210 kg CaCO3 m−2 in the top meter of their sediments, with mean accumulation rates over the last 500 years of 33.6 ± 23.6 g Corg m−2 yr−1, 1.00 ± 0.62 g N m−2 yr−1, and 405 ± 336 g CaCO3 m−2 yr−1 across sites. A redundancy analysis (RDA) explained 70% of the variation in Corg, N, and CaCO3 accumulation rates, with three sediment characteristics (i.e., sediment Corg:N and Corg:Cinorg ratios and P. oceanica contribution to the sediment Corg pool) emerging as the primary set of factors shaping the accumulation of matter, followed by seagrass traits (i.e., leaf biomass and rhizome elongation) and environmental variables (i.e., suspended organic matter). The high degree of variability within the region emphasizes the need for fine-scale assessments to understand the local conditions influencing sequestration. Our findings underscored the critical role of seagrass meadows in carbon and nitrogen sequestration in the region, urging conservation efforts to protect these ecosystems and prevent potential losses of stored carbon and nitrogen following seagrass degradation.

DOI

10.1029/2024JG008163

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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