Beach-cast seagrass wrack contributes substantially to global greenhouse gas emissions
Seagrass ecosystems have received a great deal of attention recently for their ability to capture and store carbon, thereby helping to mitigate climate change. However, their carbon-sink capacity could be offset somewhat if exported plant material – which accounts for ∼90% of total leaf production –...
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ftoceanrep:oai:oceanrep.geomar.de:52353 2023-05-15T14:01:00+02:00 Beach-cast seagrass wrack contributes substantially to global greenhouse gas emissions Liu, Songlin Trevathan-Tackett, Stacey M. Ewers Lewis, Carolyn J. Ollivier, Quinn R. Jiang, Zhijian Huang, Xiaoping Macreadie, Peter I. 2019-02 text https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/52353/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/52353/1/Liu.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.10.047 en eng Elsevier https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/52353/1/Liu.pdf Liu, S., Trevathan-Tackett, S. M., Ewers Lewis, C. J., Ollivier, Q. R., Jiang, Z., Huang, X. and Macreadie, P. I. (2019) Beach-cast seagrass wrack contributes substantially to global greenhouse gas emissions. Journal of Environmental Management, 231 . pp. 329-335. DOI 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.10.047 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.10.047>. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.10.047 info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Article PeerReviewed 2019 ftoceanrep https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.10.047 2023-04-07T15:55:25Z Seagrass ecosystems have received a great deal of attention recently for their ability to capture and store carbon, thereby helping to mitigate climate change. However, their carbon-sink capacity could be offset somewhat if exported plant material – which accounts for ∼90% of total leaf production – undergoes microbial breakdown and is emitted into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas. Here we measured emissions (CO2 and CH4) from the breakdown of exported seagrass plant material, focusing on beach-cast ‘wrack’. We tested two seagrass species; Zostera nigricaulis and Amphibolis antarctica, which have contrasting morphologies and chemistries. We found that both species of wrack were substantial sources of CO2, but not CH4, during the decomposition process. Biomass loss and the coinciding CO2 emissions occurred over the 30-day experiment, and the pattern of CO2 emissions over this time followed a double exponential model (R2 > 0.92). The initial flux rate was relatively high, most likely due to rapid leaching of labile compounds, then decreased substantially within the 2–9 days, and stabilizing at < 3 μmol g−1 d−1 during the remaining decomposition period. Additionally, seagrass wrack cast high up on beaches that remained dry had 72% lower emissions than wrack that was subjected to repeated wetting in the intertidal zone. This implies that relocation of seagrass wrack by coastal resource managers (e.g. from water's edge to drier dune areas) could help to reduce atmospheric CO2 emissions. Scaling up, we estimate the annual CO2-C flux from seagrass wrack globally is between 1.31 and 19.04 Tg C yr−1, which is equivalent to annual emissions of 0.63–9.19 million Chinese citizens. With climate change and increasing coastal development expected to accelerate the rate of wrack accumulation on beaches, this study provides timely information for developing coastal carbon budgets. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) Journal of Environmental Management 231 329 335 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) |
op_collection_id |
ftoceanrep |
language |
English |
description |
Seagrass ecosystems have received a great deal of attention recently for their ability to capture and store carbon, thereby helping to mitigate climate change. However, their carbon-sink capacity could be offset somewhat if exported plant material – which accounts for ∼90% of total leaf production – undergoes microbial breakdown and is emitted into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas. Here we measured emissions (CO2 and CH4) from the breakdown of exported seagrass plant material, focusing on beach-cast ‘wrack’. We tested two seagrass species; Zostera nigricaulis and Amphibolis antarctica, which have contrasting morphologies and chemistries. We found that both species of wrack were substantial sources of CO2, but not CH4, during the decomposition process. Biomass loss and the coinciding CO2 emissions occurred over the 30-day experiment, and the pattern of CO2 emissions over this time followed a double exponential model (R2 > 0.92). The initial flux rate was relatively high, most likely due to rapid leaching of labile compounds, then decreased substantially within the 2–9 days, and stabilizing at < 3 μmol g−1 d−1 during the remaining decomposition period. Additionally, seagrass wrack cast high up on beaches that remained dry had 72% lower emissions than wrack that was subjected to repeated wetting in the intertidal zone. This implies that relocation of seagrass wrack by coastal resource managers (e.g. from water's edge to drier dune areas) could help to reduce atmospheric CO2 emissions. Scaling up, we estimate the annual CO2-C flux from seagrass wrack globally is between 1.31 and 19.04 Tg C yr−1, which is equivalent to annual emissions of 0.63–9.19 million Chinese citizens. With climate change and increasing coastal development expected to accelerate the rate of wrack accumulation on beaches, this study provides timely information for developing coastal carbon budgets. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Liu, Songlin Trevathan-Tackett, Stacey M. Ewers Lewis, Carolyn J. Ollivier, Quinn R. Jiang, Zhijian Huang, Xiaoping Macreadie, Peter I. |
spellingShingle |
Liu, Songlin Trevathan-Tackett, Stacey M. Ewers Lewis, Carolyn J. Ollivier, Quinn R. Jiang, Zhijian Huang, Xiaoping Macreadie, Peter I. Beach-cast seagrass wrack contributes substantially to global greenhouse gas emissions |
author_facet |
Liu, Songlin Trevathan-Tackett, Stacey M. Ewers Lewis, Carolyn J. Ollivier, Quinn R. Jiang, Zhijian Huang, Xiaoping Macreadie, Peter I. |
author_sort |
Liu, Songlin |
title |
Beach-cast seagrass wrack contributes substantially to global greenhouse gas emissions |
title_short |
Beach-cast seagrass wrack contributes substantially to global greenhouse gas emissions |
title_full |
Beach-cast seagrass wrack contributes substantially to global greenhouse gas emissions |
title_fullStr |
Beach-cast seagrass wrack contributes substantially to global greenhouse gas emissions |
title_full_unstemmed |
Beach-cast seagrass wrack contributes substantially to global greenhouse gas emissions |
title_sort |
beach-cast seagrass wrack contributes substantially to global greenhouse gas emissions |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/52353/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/52353/1/Liu.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.10.047 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica |
op_relation |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/52353/1/Liu.pdf Liu, S., Trevathan-Tackett, S. M., Ewers Lewis, C. J., Ollivier, Q. R., Jiang, Z., Huang, X. and Macreadie, P. I. (2019) Beach-cast seagrass wrack contributes substantially to global greenhouse gas emissions. Journal of Environmental Management, 231 . pp. 329-335. DOI 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.10.047 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.10.047>. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.10.047 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.10.047 |
container_title |
Journal of Environmental Management |
container_volume |
231 |
container_start_page |
329 |
op_container_end_page |
335 |
_version_ |
1766270440503771136 |