KEIL CORCORAN DRIVERS

Seagrasses, along with other marine vegetated habitats such as mangroves, saltmarshes, and macroalgae, have been recognized as a potential solution to combat anthropogenic perturbations such as excessive emissions of greenhouse gasses and nutrients to the environment ( Nordlund et al., 2016 Gattuso et al., 2018 Himes-Cornell et al., 2018). In addition to providing important habitat for a wide range of species, seagrasses also play important roles in biogeochemical cycles including carbon and nutrient cycling ( Duarte et al., 2005 McGlathery et al., 2007). Seagrasses are pervasive benthic macrophytes in coastal and estuarine waters spanning all continents except Antarctica ( Short et al., 2007). The central role of coastal ecosystems in global and local biogeochemical cycles is in part due to disproportionately high biological activity in conjunction with extensive inputs of carbon and nutrients from rivers, terrestrial runoff, and upwelling ( Gattuso et al., 1998 Duarte et al., 2005).

The coastal ocean is a highly dynamic component of the EarthвЂ™s system and features many complex interactions between oceanic, terrestrial, and atmospheric processes. These insights provide guidance to managers in selecting priority areas for carbon and nutrient storage for climate- and eutrophication mitigation initiatives. Conversely, silt-clay content was not related to nutrients or chl a, suggesting a spatial dependence of the importance of these factors in driving stock sizes and implying that local differences in sediment properties and eutrophication level should be included when evaluating the storage capacity of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in Danish eelgrass meadows. Moreover, C stock was also significantly higher in more eutrophied areas with high concentrations of nutrients and chlorophyll a (chl a) in the water column. C stock, N stock, and P stock showed a significantly positive relationship with the silt-clay content in the sediments. C stock and N stock were significantly higher in inner fjords compared to outer fjords and open coasts. We found large spatial variability in sediment stocks, representing 155вЂ“4413 g C m -2, 24вЂ“448 g N m -2, and 7вЂ“34 g P m -2.

KEIL CORCORAN DRIVERS

Further, we assessed environmental factors (level of exposure, sediment properties, level of eutrophication) from each area to evaluate their relative importance as drivers of the spatial pattern in the respective stocks. Stocks were measured in the top 10 cm of eelgrass meadows spanning semi-enclosed estuaries (inner and outer fjords) to open coasts. Here we present the first nationwide study on eelgrass sediment stock of carbon (C stock), nitrogen (N stock), and phosphorus (P stock). Eelgrass ( Zostera marina) is the most abundant seagrass species along the Danish coasts, and while its function as a carbon and nutrient sink has been documented in some areas, the spatial variability of these functions, and the drivers behind them, are not well understood. From a climate change and eutrophication mitigation perspective, the ecosystem services include burial and storage of carbon and nutrients in the sediments. Seagrass ecosystems provide an array of ecosystem services ranging from habitat provision to erosion control.

3Environmental and Marine Biology, Г…bo Akademi University, Г…bo, Finland.2Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Silkeborg, Denmark.1Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.Гrberg 2, Maria Emilia RГ¶hr 1,3, Marianne Holmer 1 and Dorte Krause-Jensen 2

Keil corcoran