Al Disi Zulfa Ali, Naja Khaled, Rajendran Sankaran, Elsayed Hadil, Strakhov Ivan, Al-Kuwari Hamad Al Saad, Sadooni Fadhil, Dittrich Maria, Al-Khayat Jassim Abdulla A
Environnemental Science Center, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar.
Biomedical Research Center, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar.
Sci Rep. 2023 Aug 5;13(1):12723. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-39762-7.
Coastal Sabkhas are mudflats found in arid coastal regions that are located within the supratidal zone when high rates of evaporation lead to high salinity. While evaporitic minerals often accumulate underneath the surface, the microbial mats are present on the surface of Sabkhas. Coastal Sabkha, an under-studied ecosystem in Qatar, has the potential to store blue carbon. In the present study, we investigated the carbon storage capacity of two Sabkhas from contrasting geological backgrounds. The spatial and temporal variabilities of the carbon stocks were examined. The results showed that both studied Sabkhas exhibit a considerable potential for soil carbon storage with carbon stocks of 109.11 ± 7.07 Mg C ha and 67.77 ± 18.10 Mg C ha in Dohat Faishakh and Khor al Adaid Sabkha respectively. These values fall within the reported range for carbon stocks in coastal Sabkhas in the region (51-194 Mg C ha). Interestingly, the carbon stocks in the sediments of the Sabkhas were higher than those in the sediments of Qatari mangroves (50.17 ± 6.27 Mg C ha). These finding suggest that coastal Sabkhas can serve as blue carbon ecosystems in arid environments.
沿海盐沼是在干旱沿海地区发现的泥滩，当蒸发率很高导致盐度很高时，它们位于潮上带。虽然蒸发岩矿物经常在地表下积累，但微生物垫存在于盐沼的表面。沿海盐沼是卡塔尔一个研究不足的生态系统，具有储存蓝碳的潜力。在本研究中，我们调查了两个地质背景不同的盐沼的碳储存能力。研究了碳储量的空间和时间变异性。结果表明，两个研究的盐沼都具有相当大的土壤碳储存潜力，多哈法沙赫盐沼和霍尔阿代德盐沼的碳储量分别为109.11±7.07 Mg C/ha和67.77±18.10 Mg C/ha。这些值落在该地区沿海盐沼碳储量的报告范围内（51-194 Mg C/ha）。有趣的是，盐沼沉积物中的碳储量高于卡塔尔红树林沉积物中的碳储量（50.17±6.27 Mg C/ha）。这些发现表明，沿海盐沼可以作为干旱环境中的蓝碳生态系统。
