Seagrass losses since mid-20th century fuelled CO emissions from soil carbon stocks

Seagrass meadows store globally significant organic carbon (Corg) stocks which, if disturbed, can lead to CO2 emissions, contributing to climate change. Eutrophication and thermal stress continue to be a major cause of seagrass decline worldwide, but the associated CO2 emissions remain poorly unders...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Salinas, Cristian|||0000-0002-4716-5991, Duarte, Carlos M.|||0000-0002-1213-1361, Lavery, Paul S.|||0000-0001-5162-273X, Masqué Barri, Pere|||0000-0002-1789-320X, Arias-Ortiz, Ariane|||0000-0001-9408-0061, Leon, Javier X.|||0000-0002-4201-5804, Callaghan, David|||0000-0003-1405-7510, Kendrick, G. A.|||0000-0002-0276-6064, Serrano, Oscar|||0000-0002-5973-0046
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:232714
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/232714
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1111/gcb.15204
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Blue Carbon
Carbon sinks
Climate change
Conservation
Erosion
Eutrophication
Seagrass meadows
Descripción
Sumario:Seagrass meadows store globally significant organic carbon (Corg) stocks which, if disturbed, can lead to CO2 emissions, contributing to climate change. Eutrophication and thermal stress continue to be a major cause of seagrass decline worldwide, but the associated CO2 emissions remain poorly understood. This study presents comprehensive estimates of seagrass soil Corg erosion following eutrophication-driven seagrass loss in Cockburn Sound (23 km2 between 1960s and 1990s) and identifies the main drivers. We estimate that shallow seagrass meadows (<5 m depth) had significantly higher Corg stocks in 50 cm thick soils (4.5 ± 0.7 kg Corg/m2) than previously vegetated counterparts (0.5 ± 0.1 kg Corg/m2). In deeper areas (.