Global Change Research Group, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB), C/Miquel Marqués 21, 07109 Esporles, Spain.
Global Change Research Group, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB), C/Miquel Marqués 21, 07109 Esporles, Spain.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Sep 10;942:173805. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173805. Epub 2024 Jun 5.
Seagrass meadows are among the most abundant marine coastal ecosystems in the world. The wide variety of species, a worldwide distribution with overall high abundance, and especially their high productivity make them a plausible nature-based blue carbon solution to mitigate atmospheric CO levels. In the Mediterranean Basin, the endemic angiosperm Posidonia oceanica plays a remarkable role as a marine habitat provider in shallow waters through its vertical growth and as a carbon sink storing allochthonous carbon and biomass underneath the meadows.
Here, we assess the capacity of a pristine meadow to oxygenate the water column in the coastal area of the Balearic Islands through an evaluation of the metabolic rates in the benthic compartment as well as the resulting oxygen concentrations in the pelagic compartment.
Gross primary production (GPP), respiration (R), and net community production (NCP) are determined from dissolved oxygen (DO) measurements using two different calculation methods: a model developed for this purpose is used for data obtained from water column sensors and benthic multiparametric sensors, whereas the mass balance of measured DO is used to calculate the metabolic rates inside benthic chambers.
The meadow at our study site was characterised as a net autotrophic ecosystem throughout the year. Oxygen productivity was significantly higher in the benthic compartment than in the water column and followed clear seasonal patterns, with enhanced productivity during spring.
This work shows the key role of a healthy Posidonia oceanica ecosystem as a water column oxygenator by comparing primary production using three different sampling strategies. The potential of the seagrass as climate change mitigator and its importance for the Mediterranean coasts should be considered in future coastal planning strategies.
海草床是世界上最丰富的海洋沿海生态系统之一。物种多样性广泛，全球分布且总体丰度高，尤其是其高生产力，使它们成为一种合理的基于自然的蓝碳解决方案，可缓解大气 CO 水平。在地中海盆地，特有被子植物海草（Posidonia oceanica）在浅水区作为海洋栖息地提供者发挥着显著作用，其垂直生长方式为海洋栖息地提供了场所，并作为碳汇储存了草地下方的异源碳和生物量。
通过评估底栖生物区的代谢率以及由此产生的浮游生物区的氧气浓度，评估原始海草草甸在巴利阿里群岛沿海地区充氧水层的能力。
使用两种不同的计算方法从溶解氧（DO）测量中确定总初级生产力（GPP）、呼吸（R）和净群落生产力（NCP）：为此目的开发的模型用于从水层传感器和底栖多参数传感器获得的数据，而测量 DO 的质量平衡用于计算底栖室内部的代谢率。
研究地点的草甸全年被描述为净自养生态系统。底栖生物区的氧气生产力明显高于水层，并呈现出明显的季节性模式，春季生产力增强。
这项工作通过使用三种不同的采样策略比较初级生产力，展示了健康的海草生态系统作为水层充氧器的关键作用。在未来的沿海规划策略中，应考虑海草作为气候变化缓解剂的潜力及其对地中海沿岸的重要性。
