Response of Seagrass ‘Blue Carbon’ Stocks to Increased Water Temperatures

Macreadie, P; Hardy, S

Response of Seagrass ‘Blue Carbon’ Stocks to Increased Water Temperatures

Macreadie, P

Hardy, S

Permalink

Publisher:: MDPI AG
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Diversity, 2018, 10 (4), pp. 115 - 115
Issue Date:: 2018

Open Access

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Open Access

This item is open access.

Adobe PDF

Download Published VersionAdobe PDF (1.43 MB)

View on publisher's site

View statistics

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Macreadie, P https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7362-0882	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Hardy, S	en_US
dc.date.issued	2018	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Diversity, 2018, 10 (4), pp. 115 - 115	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1424-2818	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/134319
dc.description.abstract	<jats:p>Seagrass meadows are globally important sinks of ‘Blue Carbon’, but warming water temperatures due to climate change may undermine their capacity to sequester and retain organic carbon (Corg). We tested the effects of warming on seagrass Corg stocks in situ by transplanting seagrass soil cores along a thermal plume generated by a coal-fired power plant in a seagrass-dominated estuary (Lake Macquarie, Australia). Transplanted cores were subjected to temperatures 2 and 4 °C above ambient temperatures and Corg content was measured after 7, 30, 90 and 180 days. We were unable to detect any significant effect of warming on Corg concentration, stocks, chemical composition (as measured by labile, recalcitrant, refractory ratios), or microbial abundance at any time point. In fact, Corg levels were temporally variable. These findings contrast those of previous studies (mostly laboratory-based) that have reported increases in microbial remineralisation (breakdown) of Corg in response to warming. To explain the lack of any detectable warming effect, we suggest that higher temperatures, longer durations of warming exposure, or additional stressors (e.g., oxygen exposure) may be needed to overcome microbial activation barriers and stimulate Corg remineralisation.</jats:p>	en_US
dc.language	en	en_US
dc.publisher	MDPI AG	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Diversity	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.3390/d10040115	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Analytical Chemistry	en_US
dc.title	Response of Seagrass ‘Blue Carbon’ Stocks to Increased Water Temperatures	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	4	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	10	en_US
utslib.for	0602 Ecology	en_US
utslib.for	0502 Environmental Science and Management	en_US
utslib.for	0301 Analytical Chemistry	en_US
utslib.for	0805 Distributed Computing	en_US
utslib.for	0906 Electrical and Electronic Engineering	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.consider-herdc	false	en_US
pubs.issue	4	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published online	en_US
pubs.volume	10	en_US

Abstract:

Seagrass meadows are globally important sinks of ‘Blue Carbon’, but warming water temperatures due to climate change may undermine their capacity to sequester and retain organic carbon (Corg). We tested the effects of warming on seagrass Corg stocks in situ by transplanting seagrass soil cores along a thermal plume generated by a coal-fired power plant in a seagrass-dominated estuary (Lake Macquarie, Australia). Transplanted cores were subjected to temperatures 2 and 4 °C above ambient temperatures and Corg content was measured after 7, 30, 90 and 180 days. We were unable to detect any significant effect of warming on Corg concentration, stocks, chemical composition (as measured by labile, recalcitrant, refractory ratios), or microbial abundance at any time point. In fact, Corg levels were temporally variable. These findings contrast those of previous studies (mostly laboratory-based) that have reported increases in microbial remineralisation (breakdown) of Corg in response to warming. To explain the lack of any detectable warming effect, we suggest that higher temperatures, longer durations of warming exposure, or additional stressors (e.g., oxygen exposure) may be needed to overcome microbial activation barriers and stimulate Corg remineralisation.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/134319