Seagrass blue carbon stocks and sequestration rates in the Colombian Caribbean

Seagrass ecosystems rank amongst the most efficient natural carbon sinks on earth, sequestering CO 2 through photosynthesis and storing organic carbon (C org ) underneath their soils for millennia and thereby, mitigating climate change. However, estimates of C org stocks and accumulation rates in se...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2021-05, Vol.11 (1), p.11067-12, Article 11067
Main Authors: Serrano, Oscar, Gómez-López, Diana Isabel, Sánchez-Valencia, Laura, Acosta-Chaparro, Andres, Navas-Camacho, Raul, González-Corredor, Juan, Salinas, Cristian, Masque, Pere, Bernal, Cesar A., Marbà, Núria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/158
704/172
704/47
Abiotic factors
Accumulation
Algae
Carbon
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide emissions
Carbon sinks
Climate change
Climate change mitigation
Emissions
Environmental factors
Fossil fuels
Humanities and Social Sciences
multidisciplinary
Organic carbon
Photosynthesis
Primary production
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Seston
Soils
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Summary:Seagrass ecosystems rank amongst the most efficient natural carbon sinks on earth, sequestering CO 2 through photosynthesis and storing organic carbon (C org ) underneath their soils for millennia and thereby, mitigating climate change. However, estimates of C org stocks and accumulation rates in seagrass meadows (blue carbon) are restricted to few regions, and further information on spatial variability is required to derive robust global estimates. Here we studied soil C org stocks and accumulation rates in seagrass meadows across the Colombian Caribbean. We estimated that Thalassia testudinum meadows store 241 ± 118 Mg C org ha −1 (mean ± SD) in the top 1 m-thick soils, accumulated at rates of 122 ± 62 and 15 ± 7 g C org m −2  year −1 over the last ~ 70 years and up to 2000 years, respectively. The tropical climate of the Caribbean Sea and associated sediment run-off, together with the relatively high primary production of T. testudinum , influencing biotic and abiotic drivers of C org storage linked to seagrass and soil respiration rates, explains their relatively high C org stocks and accumulation rates when compared to other meadows globally. Differences in soil C org storage among Colombian Caribbean regions are largely linked to differences in the relative contribution of C org sources to the soil C org pool (seagrass, algae Halimeda tuna , mangrove and seston) and the content of soil particles 
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-90544-5