| Autor: |
Novak AB; Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA., Pelletier MC; Atlantic Ecology Division, US EPA, ORD, NHEERL, Narragansett, RI, USA., Colarusso P; US EPA, Region 1, Boston, MA, USA., Simpson J; MIT Sea Grant, Cambridge, MA, USA., Gutierrez MN; Atlantic Ecology Division, US EPA, ORD, NHEERL, Narragansett, RI, USA., Arias-Ortiz A; Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain.; Ecosystem Science Division, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA., Charpentier M; General Dynamics Corporation, Narragansett, RI, USA., Masque P; Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain.; School of Science and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia 6027, Australia.; Departament de Física, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain.; International Atomic Energy, 4a Quai Antoine 1er, 98000 Principality of Monaco, Monaco., Vella P; Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management, Boston, MA, USA. |
| Abstrakt: |
Increasing the protection of coastal vegetated ecosystems has been suggested as one strategy to compensate for increasing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in the atmosphere as the capacity of these habitats to sequester and store carbon exceeds that of terrestrial habitats. Seagrasses are a group of foundation species that grow in shallow coastal and estuarine systems and have an exceptional ability to sequester and store large quantities of carbon in biomass and, particularly, in sediments. However, carbon stocks (C org stocks) and carbon accumulation rates (C org accumulation) in seagrass meadows are highly variable both spatially and temporally, making it difficult to extrapolate this strategy to areas where information is lacking. In this study, C org stocks and C org accumulation were determined at 11 eelgrass meadows across New England, representing a range of eutrophication and exposure conditions. In addition, the environmental factors and structural characteristics of meadows related to variation in C org stocks were identified. The objectives were accomplished by assessing stable isotopes of δ 13 C and δ 15 N as well as %C and %N in plant tissues and sediments, measuring grain size and 210 Pb of sediment cores, and through assessing site exposure. Variability in C org stocks in seagrass meadows is well predicted using commonly measured environmental variables such as grain size distribution. This study allows incorporation of data and insights for the northwest Atlantic, where few studies on carbon sequestration by seagrasses have been conducted. |
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