Carbon sequestration loss following Zostera noltei decline in the Arcachon Bay (France)

Type Article
Date 2016-09
Language English
Author(s) Ribaudo Cristina1, 3, Plus MartinORCID2, Ganthy FlorianORCID1, Auby IsabelleORCID1
Affiliation(s) 1 : Lab IFREMER DEL AR, F-33120 Arcachon, France.
2 : Lab IFREMER Ctr Bretagne, ZI Pointe Diable, F-29280 Plouzane, France.
3 : Irstea, UR EABX, 50 Ave Verdun, F-33612 Cestas, France.
Source Estuarine Coastal And Shelf Science (0272-7714) (Academic Press Ltd- Elsevier Science Ltd), 2016-09 , Vol. 179 , P. 4-11
DOI 10.1016/j.ecss.2016.01.024
WOS© Times Cited 8
Note Special Issue: Functioning and dysfunctioning of Marine and Brackish Ecosystems
Keyword(s) Seagrass, Meadow regression, Macrotidal lagoon, Growth model, Nutrient leaf resorption
Abstract The worldwide decline of seagrass meadows may result in the loss of relevant ecosystem services such as the carbon sequestration within marine ecosystems. In this paper, net primary production (NPP) of Zostera noltei meadows was assessed in the Arcachon Bay (SW France) with the aim of understanding the impact of meadows decline on C sequestration capacity at a basin scale. Net growth rates obtained by means of a year-long leaf-marking experiment (2005-2006) were coupled to interannual biomass measurements (1983-2010) to obtain a direct estimate of NPP. Concurrently, an indirect estimate was obtained through a mathematical model which embedded natural factors variation (temperature, light and nutrients). Z. noltei seasonal growth and leaf morphometry followed a unimodal pattern with a peak in late summer and a minimum in winter; the interannual biomass assessment showed a steadiness at spatial and temporal scales. Net primary production simulated by the mathematical model resulted lower than that obtained by the leaf-marking and biomass method. Moreover, a temporal shift among models was evident, given to the dependence of the simulation mainly on the irradiance. Daily NPP ranged from 0.4 ± 0.2 to 8.4 ± 0.4 gDW m-2d-1, corresponding to an annual NPP of 1134.2 ± 100.2 gDW m-2y-1 and to a net C fixation of 362.9 ± 88.1 g C m-2y-1. By considering the decline of 33% of Z. noltei meadows in the Arcachon Bay in the period 1989-2010, it can be estimated a loss of C sequestration capacity from 24846 ± 6030 ton C y-1 (1989) to 16564 ± 4020 ton C y-1 (2007) at the basin scale.
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