Mediterranean seagrasses as carbon sinks: methodological and regional differences
The increasing rates of CO 2 due to anthropogenic activities are causing important potential climate threats for the Mediterranean Sea: ocean acidification and warming. In this region, two seagrass species, Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa , can play a crucial role in climate change mitigatio...
Published in: | Biogeosciences |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4619-2022 https://doaj.org/article/8958cf75fdd94abc869233ec61d8a6f6 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:8958cf75fdd94abc869233ec61d8a6f6 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:8958cf75fdd94abc869233ec61d8a6f6 2023-05-15T17:51:44+02:00 Mediterranean seagrasses as carbon sinks: methodological and regional differences I. E. Hendriks A. Escolano-Moltó S. Flecha R. Vaquer-Sunyer M. Wesselmann N. Marbà 2022-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4619-2022 https://doaj.org/article/8958cf75fdd94abc869233ec61d8a6f6 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/19/4619/2022/bg-19-4619-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-19-4619-2022 1726-4170 1726-4189 https://doaj.org/article/8958cf75fdd94abc869233ec61d8a6f6 Biogeosciences, Vol 19, Pp 4619-4637 (2022) Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4619-2022 2022-12-30T19:57:32Z The increasing rates of CO 2 due to anthropogenic activities are causing important potential climate threats for the Mediterranean Sea: ocean acidification and warming. In this region, two seagrass species, Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa , can play a crucial role in climate change mitigation. Seagrasses can act as carbon sinks, buffer lowering pH values during the day and storing carbon in the sediment underneath their meadows. However, available data documenting these processes are scattered and collected using different methodologies, which makes its interpretation and generalization very challenging. In this study, we analyzed published and unpublished data (collected for this study) on seagrass community metabolism to compare two methodologies, benthic chambers and multiparametric sensors, and evaluate trends through time for these two species. Furthermore, we analyzed seasonal trends of both seagrass species' metabolic rates and their variation between the eastern and western Mediterranean basins. Most evaluated meadows, 80.9 %, were autotrophic. Calculated metabolic rates differ between methodologies, with multiparametric sensors estimating rates almost an order of magnitude higher, 143.22±28.21 (SE) mmol O 2 m −2 d −1 for net community production (NCP) compared to an average of 18.75±3.80 (SE) mmol O 2 m −2 d −1 for measurements with benthic chambers. However, sensors are not able to differentiate between habitats and only useful to assess seagrass metabolism at a broader community level, whereas benthic chambers are capable of evaluating rates at the species level and confirm that P. oceanica is more productive compared to C. nodosa . We found similar metabolic rates in the eastern and western Mediterranean regions for P. oceanica with the benthic-chamber technique and higher NCP in the west based on sensor measurements. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Biogeosciences 19 18 4619 4637 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 I. E. Hendriks A. Escolano-Moltó S. Flecha R. Vaquer-Sunyer M. Wesselmann N. Marbà Mediterranean seagrasses as carbon sinks: methodological and regional differences |
topic_facet |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
The increasing rates of CO 2 due to anthropogenic activities are causing important potential climate threats for the Mediterranean Sea: ocean acidification and warming. In this region, two seagrass species, Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa , can play a crucial role in climate change mitigation. Seagrasses can act as carbon sinks, buffer lowering pH values during the day and storing carbon in the sediment underneath their meadows. However, available data documenting these processes are scattered and collected using different methodologies, which makes its interpretation and generalization very challenging. In this study, we analyzed published and unpublished data (collected for this study) on seagrass community metabolism to compare two methodologies, benthic chambers and multiparametric sensors, and evaluate trends through time for these two species. Furthermore, we analyzed seasonal trends of both seagrass species' metabolic rates and their variation between the eastern and western Mediterranean basins. Most evaluated meadows, 80.9 %, were autotrophic. Calculated metabolic rates differ between methodologies, with multiparametric sensors estimating rates almost an order of magnitude higher, 143.22±28.21 (SE) mmol O 2 m −2 d −1 for net community production (NCP) compared to an average of 18.75±3.80 (SE) mmol O 2 m −2 d −1 for measurements with benthic chambers. However, sensors are not able to differentiate between habitats and only useful to assess seagrass metabolism at a broader community level, whereas benthic chambers are capable of evaluating rates at the species level and confirm that P. oceanica is more productive compared to C. nodosa . We found similar metabolic rates in the eastern and western Mediterranean regions for P. oceanica with the benthic-chamber technique and higher NCP in the west based on sensor measurements. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
I. E. Hendriks A. Escolano-Moltó S. Flecha R. Vaquer-Sunyer M. Wesselmann N. Marbà |
author_facet |
I. E. Hendriks A. Escolano-Moltó S. Flecha R. Vaquer-Sunyer M. Wesselmann N. Marbà |
author_sort |
I. E. Hendriks |
title |
Mediterranean seagrasses as carbon sinks: methodological and regional differences |
title_short |
Mediterranean seagrasses as carbon sinks: methodological and regional differences |
title_full |
Mediterranean seagrasses as carbon sinks: methodological and regional differences |
title_fullStr |
Mediterranean seagrasses as carbon sinks: methodological and regional differences |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mediterranean seagrasses as carbon sinks: methodological and regional differences |
title_sort |
mediterranean seagrasses as carbon sinks: methodological and regional differences |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4619-2022 https://doaj.org/article/8958cf75fdd94abc869233ec61d8a6f6 |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
Biogeosciences, Vol 19, Pp 4619-4637 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/19/4619/2022/bg-19-4619-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-19-4619-2022 1726-4170 1726-4189 https://doaj.org/article/8958cf75fdd94abc869233ec61d8a6f6 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4619-2022 |
container_title |
Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
19 |
container_issue |
18 |
container_start_page |
4619 |
op_container_end_page |
4637 |
_version_ |
1766158970316128256 |