Digital Commons Network^™

Seagrass Losses Since Mid‐20th Century Fuelled Co2 Emissions From Soil Carbon Stocks, Cristian Salinas, Carlos M. Duarte, Paul Lavery, Pere Masque´, Ariane Arias-Ortiz, Javier X. Leon, David Callaghan, Gary A. Kendrick, Oscar Serrano

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Seagrass meadows store globally significant organic carbon (C_org) stocks which, if disturbed, can lead to CO₂ emissions, contributing to climate change. Eutrophication and thermal stress continue to be a major cause of seagrass decline worldwide, but the associated CO₂ emissions remain poorly understood. This study presents comprehensive estimates of seagrass soil C_org erosion following eutrophication‐driven seagrass loss in Cockburn Sound (23 km² between 1960s and 1990s) and identifies the main drivers. We estimate that shallow seagrass meadows ( < 5 m depth) had significantly higher C_org stocks in 50 cm thick soils (4.5 ± 0.7 kg C_org/m²) …