Shayka Bridget F, Richards Sean, Andskog Mona A, Allgeier Jacob E
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Faculty of Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia.
Glob Chang Biol. 2025 Aug;31(8):e70401. doi: 10.1111/gcb.70401.
Seagrass beds have potential as nature-based solutions to climate change because their high rates of primary production can bury large amounts of carbon. Yet, realizing their potential necessitates improved understanding of the mechanisms contributing to carbon burial, especially in the context of nutrient enrichment, a ubiquitous threat to seagrass beds globally. Leveraging a nine-year nutrient enrichment experiment, we tested how different nutrient sources, supply rates, and ratios altered mechanisms underpinning carbon burial. Nutrient enrichment increased aboveground and decreased belowground biomass but increased carbon production and turnover, particularly belowground. To inform conservation efforts, we showed that blade height and shoot density effectively predict belowground carbon turnover and therefore provide a simple measure to assess potential belowground carbon inputs to sediment. By identifying the mechanisms that promote carbon burial in the face of nutrient enrichment, our study advances understanding of how to prioritize protection of nature-based solutions amidst this ubiquitous stressor.
海草床有潜力成为应对气候变化的基于自然的解决方案，因为它们的高初级生产力能够埋藏大量碳。然而，要实现其潜力，就需要更好地理解促成碳埋藏的机制，特别是在营养物质富集的背景下，这是全球海草床普遍面临的威胁。利用一项为期九年的营养物质富集实验，我们测试了不同的营养源、供应速率和比例如何改变支撑碳埋藏的机制。营养物质富集增加了地上生物量并减少了地下生物量，但增加了碳的产生和周转，尤其是地下部分。为指导保护工作，我们表明叶片高度和茎密度能有效预测地下碳周转，因此提供了一种简单的方法来评估沉积物潜在的地下碳输入。通过确定在营养物质富集情况下促进碳埋藏的机制，我们的研究推进了对如何在这种普遍存在的压力源中优先保护基于自然的解决方案的理解。
