Kelp carbon sink potential decreases with warming due to accelerating decomposition.

ABSTRACT: Cycling of organic carbon in the ocean has the potential to mitigate or exacerbate global climate change, but major questions remain about the environmental controls on organic carbon flux in the coastal zone. Here, we used a field experiment distributed across 28° of latitude, and the entire range of 2 dominant kelp species in the northern hemisphere, to measure decomposition rates of kelp detritus on the seafloor in relation to local environmental factors. Detritus decomposition in both species were strongly related to ocean temperature and initial carbon content, with higher rates of biomass loss at lower latitudes with warmer temperatures. Our experiment showed slow overall decomposition and turnover of kelp detritus and modeling of coastal residence times at our study sites revealed t

SUBMITTER: Filbee-Dexter K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9352061 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature