Carbon storage in the seagrass meadows of Gazi Bay, Kenya.
Carbon storage in the seagrass meadows of Gazi Bay, Kenya.
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pone.0177001
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发表时间：
2017
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Huxham M
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Githaiga MN;Kairo JG;Gilpin L;Huxham M
植被海洋生境是全球重要的碳汇，对减缓气候变化作出了重大贡献，并提供了广泛的其他生态系统服务。然而，在知识方面仍然存在巨大差距，特别是在非洲的海草草甸方面。本研究估计的生物量和沉积物中的有机碳（Corg）库存的四个主要海草物种在加齐湾，肯尼亚。它比较了沉积物Corg之间的海草地区的植被和无植被的“控制”，使用天然斑块状的海草在这个网站上测试海草生长对沉积物Corg的影响。还探讨了沉积物和地上Corg之间的关系，以及总生物量和地上参数之间的关系。沉积物Corg在物种之间存在显著差异，范围：160.7-233.8 Mg C ha-1（与全球范围115.3 - 829.2 Mg C ha-1相比）。在所有物种的植被区有显着较高的沉积物Corg与unvegetated控制相比，海草的存在增加Corg的4-6倍。生物量碳在物种之间差异很大，平均值在4.8-7.1 Mg C ha-1之间，而全球范围为2.5-7.3 Mg C ha-1。据我们所知，这些都是第一批结果的海草沉积物Corg报告从非洲海草床，并有助于我们了解海草在全球碳动态的作用。
Vegetated marine habitats are globally important carbon sinks, making a significant contribution towards mitigating climate change, and they provide a wide range of other ecosystem services. However, large gaps in knowledge remain, particularly for seagrass meadows in Africa. The present study estimated biomass and sediment organic carbon (Corg) stocks of four dominant seagrass species in Gazi Bay, Kenya. It compared sediment Corg between seagrass areas in vegetated and un-vegetated ‘controls’, using the naturally patchy occurence of seagrass at this site to test the impacts of seagrass growth on sediment Corg. It also explored relationships between the sediment and above-ground Corg, as well as between the total biomass and above-ground parameters. Sediment Corg was significantly different between species, range: 160.7–233.8 Mg C ha-1 (compared to the global range of 115.3 to 829.2 Mg C ha-1). Vegetated areas in all species had significantly higher sediment Corg compared with un-vegetated controls; the presence of seagrass increased Corg by 4–6 times. Biomass carbon differed significantly between species with means ranging between 4.8–7.1 Mg C ha-1 compared to the global range of 2.5–7.3 Mg C ha-1. To our knowledge, these are among the first results on seagrass sediment Corg to be reported from African seagrass beds; and contribute towards our understanding of the role of seagrass in global carbon dynamics.