High variability of Blue Carbon storage in seagrass meadows at the estuary scale.

ABSTRACT: Seagrass meadows are considered important natural carbon sinks due to their capacity to store organic carbon (C_org) in sediments. However, the spatial heterogeneity of carbon storage in seagrass sediments needs to be better understood to improve accuracy of Blue Carbon assessments, particularly when strong gradients are present. We performed an intensive coring study within a sub-tropical estuary to assess the spatial variability in sedimentary C_org associated with seagrasses, and to identify the key factors promoting this variability. We found a strong spatial pattern within the estuary, from 52.16 mg C_org cm^-3 in seagrass meadows in the upper parts, declining to 1.06 mg C_org cm^-3 in seagrass meadows at the estuary mouth, d

SUBMITTER: Ricart AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7125166 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature