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Carbon and nutrient deposition in a Mediterranean seagrass ( Posidonia oceanica ) meadow
Author(s) -
Gacia Esperança,
Duarte Carlos M.,
Middelburg Jack J.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.2002.47.1.0023
Subject(s) - posidonia oceanica , seston , detritus , seagrass , sediment , environmental science , nutrient , phosphorus , deposition (geology) , mediterranean climate , nitrogen , potamogetonaceae , environmental chemistry , littoral zone , benthic zone , oceanography , chemistry , ecology , ecosystem , geology , phytoplankton , biology , paleontology , organic chemistry
The annual depositional flux of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorous (P) to the sediments under a northeast Spain Posidonia oceanica meadow was evaluated, and the sources and fate of the material deposited elucidated. The annual deposition of carbon represented 198 g C m −2 yr −1 , 72% of which was derived from the seston and 28% from P. oceanica detritus. The depositional flux was poor in nitrogen (13.4 g N m −2 yr −1 ) and phosphorous (2.01 g P m −2 yr −1 ), although comparable to the nutrient inputs required to support the growth of P. oceanica . Remineralization in the sediment only returned 15.6 g C m −2 yr −1 , yielding a net carbon accumulation of 182 g C m −2 yr −1 . Our results show that in the Mediterranean littoral P. oceanica meadows are important sites of net organic carbon burial, derived from sedimented sestonic particles and seagrass detritus.