Seagrass beds store less carbon but support more macrobenthos than mangrove forests

Zhinan Su; Guanglong Qiu; Hangqing Fan; Chao Fang

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105162

Seagrass beds store less carbon but support more macrobenthos than mangrove forests

Mar Environ Res. 2020 Dec:162:105162. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105162. Epub 2020 Sep 28.

Authors

Zhinan Su¹, Guanglong Qiu², Hangqing Fan¹, Chao Fang³

Affiliations

¹ Forestry College, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, China; Guangxi Key Lab of Mangrove Conservation and Utilization, Guangxi Mangrove Research Center, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Beihai, 536000, Guangxi, China.
² Guangxi Key Lab of Mangrove Conservation and Utilization, Guangxi Mangrove Research Center, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Beihai, 536000, Guangxi, China. Electronic address: qalong@163.com.
³ Guangxi Key Lab of Mangrove Conservation and Utilization, Guangxi Mangrove Research Center, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Beihai, 536000, Guangxi, China.

PMID: 33011585
DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105162

Abstract

Seagrass beds (SG) have powerful ecosystem functions, but some seagrasses, e.g., Halophila beccarii, have been neglected because of their tiny plant structure and narrow and restricted distribution in the intertidal zone. In this study, we compared ecosystem structure and function between H. beccarii SG and adjacent coastal habitats through: (i) vegetation composition, (ii) carbon storage, and (iii) macrobenthic community. The vegetation carbon storage was only 0.1% of that in mangrove forests (MG). The sediment carbon storage (0-60 cm) of SG (67.4 ± 20.2 MgC_org·ha^-1) was 74.31% of MG (90.7 ± 12.9 MgC_org·ha^-1) and 13.51% higher than unvegetated flats (UnV) (55.1 ± 17.7 MgC_org·ha^-1). The macrobenthic abundance, biomass and secondary productivity in SG were significantly higher than those in MG, indicating that SG support more macrobenthos than MG. However, SG experienced more disturbances than MG and UnV. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the protection of H. beccarii SG to preserve their essential functions and services.

Keywords: Benthic macrofauna; Benthos; Blue carbon; Coastal wetland; Disturbance; Ecosystem function; Halophila beccarii; Marine ecology.

MeSH terms

Biomass
Carbon*
Ecosystem
Wetlands*

Substances

Carbon