1. Seagrass blue carbon stocks and sequestration rates in the Colombian Caribbean
- Author
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Juan González-Corredor, Raúl Navas-Camacho, Pere Masqué, Cesar A. Bernal, Diana Isabel Gómez-López, Cristian Salinas, Oscar Serrano, Laura Sánchez-Valencia, Andres Acosta-Chaparro, and Núria Marbà
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Science ,7. Clean energy ,01 natural sciences ,Article ,Soil respiration ,Blue carbon ,Ecosystem ,14. Life underwater ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,2. Zero hunger ,Multidisciplinary ,biology ,Ecology ,010604 marine biology & hydrobiology ,Seston ,Biogeochemistry ,Carbon sink ,15. Life on land ,biology.organism_classification ,Environmental sciences ,Seagrass ,13. Climate action ,Thalassia testudinum ,Environmental science ,Medicine - Abstract
Este artículo contiene 12 páginas, 4 figuras, 3 tablas., Seagrass ecosystems rank amongst the most efficient natural carbon sinks on earth, sequestering CO2 through photosynthesis and storing organic carbon ( Corg) underneath their soils for millennia and thereby, mitigating climate change. However, estimates of Corg 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 Corg stocks and accumulation rates in seagrass meadows across the Colombian Caribbean. We estimated that Thalassia testudinum meadows store 241 ± 118 Mg Corg ha− 1 (mean ± SD) in the top 1 m-thick soils, accumulated at rates of 122 ± 62 and 15 ± 7 g Corg 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 runoff, together with the relatively high primary production of T. testudinum, influencing biotic and abiotic drivers of Corg storage linked to seagrass and soil respiration rates, explains their relatively high Corg stocks and accumulation rates when compared to other meadows globally. Differences in soil Corg storage among Colombian Caribbean regions are largely linked to differences in the relative contribution of Corg sources to the soil Corg pool (seagrass, algae Halimeda tuna, mangrove and seston) and the content of soil particles < 0.016 mm binding Corg and enhancing its preservation. Despite the moderate areal extent of T. testudinum in the Colombian Caribbean (661 km2), it sequesters around 0.3 Tg CO2 year− 1, which is equivalent to ~ 0.4% of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in Colombia. This study adds data from a new region to a growing dataset on seagrass blue carbon and further explores differences in meadow Corg storage based on biotic and abiotic environmental factors, while providing the basis for the implementation of seagrass blue carbon strategies in Colombia., external actions ENV/2016/380-526 cofounded by INVEMAR and Fundación Natura (Colombia,) with the support of ECU (Australia) and CSIC (project COOPB20366, I-COOP+ program, Spain). Its contents are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. O.S. was supported by an ARC DECRA (DE170101524). C.S. was supported by ECU Higher Degree by Research Scholarship. P.M. was supported by the Australian Research Council LIEF Project (LE170100219). The IAEA is grateful for the support provided to its Environment Laboratories by the Government of the Principality of Monaco. This is the Contribution #1306 from INVEMAR. more...
- Published
- 2021