title: Sediment Properties as Important Predictors of Carbon Storage in Zostera marina Meadows: A Comparison of Four European Areas.
abstract: Seagrass ecosystems are important natural carbon sinks but their efficiency varies greatly depending on species composition and environmental conditions. What causes this variation is not fully known and could have important implications for management and protection of the seagrass habitat to continue to act as a natural carbon sink. Here, we assessed sedimentary organic carbon in Zostera marina meadows (and adjacent unvegetated sediment) in four distinct areas of Europe (Gullmar Fjord on the Swedish Skagerrak coast, Askö in the Baltic Sea, Sozopol in the Black Sea and Ria Formosa in southern Portugal) down to ~35 cm depth. We also tested how sedimentary organic carbon in Z. marina meadows relates to different sediment characteristics, a range of seagrass-associated variables and water depth. The seagrass carbon storage varied greatly among areas, with an average organic carbon content ranging from 2.79 ± 0.50% in the Gullmar Fjord to 0.17 ± 0.02% in the area of Sozopol. We found that a high proportion of fine grain size, high porosity and low density of the sediment is strongly related to high carbon content in Z. marina sediment. We suggest that sediment properties should be included as an important factor when evaluating high priority areas in management of Z. marina generated carbon sinks.
authors.affiliation: Seagrass Ecology & Physiology Research Group, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dahl
authors.affiliation: Seagrass Ecology & Physiology Research Group, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Deyanova
authors.affiliation: Seagrass Ecology & Physiology Research Group, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gütschow
authors.affiliation: The Sven Lovén Center for Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Fiskebäckskil, Sweden.
authors.forename: Maria E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Asplund
authors.affiliation: Seagrass Ecology & Physiology Research Group, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.|School of Biological Science, University of Dodoma, Dodoma, Tanzania.
authors.forename: Liberatus D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Lyimo
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Ventzislav
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Karamfilov
authors.affiliation: ALGAE -Marine Ecology Research Group, CCMar - Center of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Seagrass Ecology & Physiology Research Group, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mats
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Björk
authors.affiliation: Seagrass Ecology & Physiology Research Group, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gullström
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D059038:Black Sea; D002031:Bulgaria; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods; D017753:Ecosystem; D063366:Estuaries; D005843:Geography; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000378:metabolism; D010316:Particle Size; D011156:Population Density; D011174:Portugal; D013548:Sweden; D035962:Zosteraceae / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D009930:Organic Chemicals; D002244:Carbon