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Talekar S, Barrow CJ, Nguyen HC, Zolfagharian A, Zare S, Farjana SH, Macreadie PI, Ashraf M, Trevathan-Tackett SM. Using waste biomass to produce 3D-printed artificial biodegradable structures for coastal ecosystem restoration. Sci Total Environ 2024; 925:171728. [PMID: 38492597 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2023] [Revised: 03/02/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024]
Abstract
The loss of ecosystem functions and services caused by rapidly declining coastal marine ecosystems, including corals and bivalve reefs and wetlands, around the world has sparked significant interest in interdisciplinary methods to restore these ecologically and socially important ecosystems. In recent years, 3D-printed artificial biodegradable structures that mimic natural life stages or habitat have emerged as a promising method for coastal marine restoration. The effectiveness of this method relies on the availability of low-cost biodegradable printing polymers and the development of 3D-printed biomimetic structures that efficiently support the growth of plant and sessile animal species without harming the surrounding ecosystem. In this context, we present the potential and pathway for utilizing low-cost biodegradable biopolymers from waste biomass as printing materials to fabricate 3D-printed biodegradable artificial structures for restoring coastal marine ecosystems. Various waste biomass sources can be used to produce inexpensive biopolymers, particularly those with the higher mechanical rigidity required for 3D-printed artificial structures intended to restore marine ecosystems. Advancements in 3D printing methods, as well as biopolymer modifications and blending to address challenges like biopolymer solubility, rheology, chemical composition, crystallinity, plasticity, and heat stability, have enabled the fabrication of robust structures. The ability of 3D-printed structures to support species colonization and protection was found to be greatly influenced by their biopolymer type, surface topography, structure design, and complexity. Considering limited studies on biodegradability and the effect of biodegradation products on marine ecosystems, we highlight the need for investigating the biodegradability of biopolymers in marine conditions as well as the ecotoxicity of the degraded products. Finally, we present the challenges, considerations, and future perspectives for designing tunable biomimetic 3D-printed artificial biodegradable structures from waste biomass biopolymers for large-scale coastal marine restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sachin Talekar
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia; ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Green Chemistry in Manufacturing, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia; Centre for Sustainable Bioproducts, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia
| | - Colin J Barrow
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia; ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Green Chemistry in Manufacturing, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia; Centre for Sustainable Bioproducts, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia.
| | - Hoang Chinh Nguyen
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia; Centre for Sustainable Bioproducts, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia
| | - Ali Zolfagharian
- School of Engineering, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia
| | - Shahab Zare
- School of Engineering, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia
| | | | - Peter I Macreadie
- Deakin Marine Research and Innovation Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
| | - Mahmud Ashraf
- School of Engineering, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia
| | - Stacey M Trevathan-Tackett
- Deakin Marine Research and Innovation Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
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Malerba ME, de Kluyver T, Wright N, Omosalewa O, Macreadie PI. Including Methane Emissions from Agricultural Ponds in National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Environ Sci Technol 2024. [PMID: 38696360 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c08898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2024]
Abstract
Agricultural ponds are a significant source of greenhouse gases, contributing to the ongoing challenge of anthropogenic climate change. Nations are encouraged to account for these emissions in their national greenhouse gas inventory reports. We present a remote sensing approach using open-access satellite imagery to estimate total methane emissions from agricultural ponds that account for (1) monthly fluctuations in the surface area of individual ponds, (2) rates of historical accumulation of agricultural ponds, and (3) the temperature dependence of methane emissions. As a case study, we used this method to inform the 2024 National Greenhouse Gas Inventory reports submitted by the Australian government, in compliance with the Paris Agreement. Total annual methane emissions increased by 58% from 1990 (26 kilotons CH4 year-1) to 2022 (41 kilotons CH4 year-1). This increase is linked to the water surface of agricultural ponds growing by 51% between 1990 (115 kilo hectares; 1,150 km2) and 2022 (173 kilo hectares; 1,730 km2). In Australia, 16,000 new agricultural ponds are built annually, expanding methane-emitting water surfaces by 1,230 ha yearly (12.3 km2 year-1). On average, the methane flux of agricultural ponds in Australia is 0.238 t CH4 ha-1 year-1. These results offer policymakers insights into developing targeted mitigation strategies to curb these specific forms of anthropogenic emissions. For instance, financial incentives, such as carbon or biodiversity credits, can mobilize widespread investments toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing the ecological and environmental values of agricultural ponds. Our data and modeling tools are available on a free cloud-based platform for other countries to adopt this approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martino E Malerba
- Deakin Marine Research and Innovation Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria 3125, Australia
| | - Tertius de Kluyver
- Energy, The Environment and Water, Emissions Reduction Division, Australian Department of Climate Change, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
| | - Nicholas Wright
- Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Sustainability and Biosecurity, 1 Nash St, Perth, Western Australia 6000, Australia
| | - Odebiri Omosalewa
- Deakin Marine Research and Innovation Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria 3125, Australia
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Deakin Marine Research and Innovation Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria 3125, Australia
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3
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Schuster L, Taillardat P, Macreadie PI, Malerba ME. Freshwater wetland restoration and conservation are long-term natural climate solutions. Sci Total Environ 2024; 922:171218. [PMID: 38423329 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Freshwater wetlands have a disproportionately large influence on the global carbon cycle, with the potential to serve as long-term carbon sinks. Many of the world's freshwater wetlands have been destroyed or degraded, thereby affecting carbon-sink capacity. Ecological restoration of degraded wetlands is thus becoming an increasingly sought-after natural climate solution. Yet the time required to revert a degraded wetland from a carbon source to sink remains largely unknown. Moreover, increased methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions might complicate the climate benefit that wetland restoration may represent. We conducted a global meta-analysis to evaluate the benefits of wetland restoration in terms of net ecosystem carbon and greenhouse gas balance. Most studies (76 %) investigated the benefits of wetland restoration in peatlands (bogs, fens, and peat swamps) in the northern hemisphere, whereas the effects of restoration in non-peat wetlands (freshwater marshes, non-peat swamps, and riparian wetlands) remain largely unexplored. Despite higher CH4 emissions, most restored (77 %) and all natural peatlands were net carbon sinks, whereas most degraded peatlands (69 %) were carbon sources. Conversely, CH4 emissions from non-peat wetlands were similar across degraded, restored, and natural non-peat wetlands. When considering the radiative forcings and atmospheric lifetimes of the different greenhouse gases, the average time for restored wetlands to have a net cooling effect on the climate after restoration is 525 years for peatlands and 141 years for non-peat wetlands. The radiative benefit of wetland restoration does, therefore, not meet the timeframe set by the Paris Agreement to limit global warming by 2100. The conservation and protection of natural freshwater wetlands should be prioritised over wetland restoration as those ecosystems already play a key role in climate change mitigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Schuster
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University VIC 3125, Australia.
| | - Pierre Taillardat
- NUS Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117411, Singapore
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Martino E Malerba
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University VIC 3125, Australia
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4
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Noman MA, Adyel TM, Trevathan-Tackett S, Macreadie PI. Plastic Paradox in Blue Carbon Ecosystems. Environ Sci Technol 2024; 58:4469-4475. [PMID: 38409667 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c08717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
Plastics are rapidly accumulating in blue carbon ecosystems, i.e., mangrove forests, tidal marshes, and seagrass meadows. Accumulated plastic is diverted from the ocean, but the extent and nature of impacts on blue carbon ecosystem processes, including carbon sequestration, are poorly known. Here, we explore the potential positive and negative consequences of plastic accumulation in blue carbon ecosystems. We highlight the effects of plastic accumulation on organic carbon stocks and sediment biogeochemistry through microbial metabolism. The notion of beneficial plastic accumulation in blue carbon ecosystems is controversial, yet considering the alternative impacts of plastics on oceanic and aboveground environments, this may be the "lesser of evils". Using environmental life cycle impact assessment, we propose a research framework to address the potential positive and negative impacts of plastic accumulation in blue carbon ecosystems. Considering the multifaceted benefits, we prioritize expanding and managing blue carbon ecosystems, which may help with ecosystem conservation, as well as mitigating the negative effects of plastic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Abu Noman
- Centre for Marine Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria 3125, Australia
| | - Tanveer M Adyel
- Centre for Marine Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria 3125, Australia
- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, Mawson Lakes, South Australia 5095, Australia
| | - Stacey Trevathan-Tackett
- Centre for Marine Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria 3125, Australia
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Marine Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria 3125, Australia
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Noman MA, Adyel TM, Macreadie PI, Trevathan-Tackett SM. Prioritising plastic pollution research in blue carbon ecosystems: A scientometric overview. Sci Total Environ 2024; 914:169868. [PMID: 38185172 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.169868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/31/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
The Blue Carbon Ecosystems (BCEs), comprising mangroves, saltmarshes, and seagrasses, located at the land-ocean interface provide crucial ecosystem services. These ecosystems serve as a natural barrier against the transportation of plastic waste from land to the ocean, effectively intercepting and mitigating plastic pollution in the ocean. To gain insights into the current state of research, and uncover key research gaps related to plastic pollution in BCEs, this study conveyed a comprehensive overview using bibliometric, altmetric, and literature synthesis approaches. The bibliometric analysis revealed a significant increase in publications addressing plastic pollution in BCEs, particularly since 2018. Geographically, Chinese institutions have made substantial contributions to this research field compared to countries and regions with extensive BCEs and established blue carbon science programs. Furthermore, many studies have focused on mangrove ecosystems, while limited attention was given to exploring plastic pollution in saltmarsh, seagrass, and multiple ecosystems simultaneously. Through a systematic analysis, this study identified four major research themes in BCE-plastics research: a) plastic trapping by vegetated coastal ecosystems, b) microbial plastic degradation, c) ingestion of plastic by benthic organisms, and d) effects of plastic on blue carbon biogeochemistry. Upon synthesising the current knowledge in each theme, we employed a perspective lens to outline future research frameworks, specifically emphasising habitat characteristics and blue carbon biogeochemistry. Emphasising the importance of synergistic research between plastic pollution and blue carbon science, we underscore the opportunities to progress our understanding of plastic reservoirs across BCEs and their subsequent effects on blue carbon sequestration and mineralisation. Together, the outcomes of this review have overarching implications for managing plastic pollution and optimising climate mitigation outcomes through the blue carbon strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Abu Noman
- Deakin Marine Research and Innovation Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC 3125, Australia.
| | - Tanveer M Adyel
- Deakin Marine Research and Innovation Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC 3125, Australia; STEM, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes campus, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Deakin Marine Research and Innovation Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Stacey M Trevathan-Tackett
- Deakin Marine Research and Innovation Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC 3125, Australia.
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Knights AM, Lemasson AJ, Firth LB, Bond T, Claisse J, Coolen JWP, Copping A, Dannheim J, De Dominicis M, Degraer S, Elliott M, Fernandes PG, Fowler AM, Frost M, Henry LA, Hicks N, Hyder K, Jagerroos S, Jones DOB, Love M, Lynam CP, Macreadie PI, Marlow J, Mavraki N, McLean D, Montagna PA, Paterson DM, Perrow M, Porter J, Russell DJF, Bull AS, Schratzberger M, Shipley B, van Elden S, Vanaverbeke J, Want A, Watson SCL, Wilding TA, Somerfield P. Developing expert scientific consensus on the environmental and societal effects of marine artificial structures prior to decommissioning. J Environ Manage 2024; 352:119897. [PMID: 38184869 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Thousands of artificial ('human-made') structures are present in the marine environment, many at or approaching end-of-life and requiring urgent decisions regarding their decommissioning. No consensus has been reached on which decommissioning option(s) result in optimal environmental and societal outcomes, in part, owing to a paucity of evidence from real-world decommissioning case studies. To address this significant challenge, we asked a worldwide panel of scientists to provide their expert opinion. They were asked to identify and characterise the ecosystem effects of artificial structures in the sea, their causes and consequences, and to identify which, if any, should be retained following decommissioning. Experts considered that most of the pressures driving ecological and societal effects from marine artificial structures (MAS) were of medium severity, occur frequently, and are dependent on spatial scale with local-scale effects of greater magnitude than regional effects. The duration of many effects following decommissioning were considered to be relatively short, in the order of days. Overall, environmental effects of structures were considered marginally undesirable, while societal effects marginally desirable. Experts therefore indicated that any decision to leave MAS in place at end-of-life to be more beneficial to society than the natural environment. However, some individual environmental effects were considered desirable and worthy of retention, especially in certain geographic locations, where structures can support improved trophic linkages, increases in tourism, habitat provision, and population size, and provide stability in population dynamics. The expert analysis consensus that the effects of MAS are both negative and positive for the environment and society, gives no strong support for policy change whether removal or retention is favoured until further empirical evidence is available to justify change to the status quo. The combination of desirable and undesirable effects associated with MAS present a significant challenge for policy- and decision-makers in their justification to implement decommissioning options. Decisions may need to be decided on a case-by-case basis accounting for the trade-off in costs and benefits at a local level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antony M Knights
- University of Plymouth, School of Biological and Marine Sciences, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK.
| | - Anaëlle J Lemasson
- University of Plymouth, School of Biological and Marine Sciences, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK
| | - Louise B Firth
- University of Plymouth, School of Biological and Marine Sciences, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK
| | - Todd Bond
- The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, 6009, Australia; School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, 6009, Australia
| | - Jeremy Claisse
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA, 91768, USA; Vantuna Research Group, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA, 90041, USA
| | - Joop W P Coolen
- Wageningen Marine Research, Ankerpark 27, 1781 AG, Den Helder, Netherlands
| | - Andrea Copping
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, US Department of Energy, Seattle, USA
| | - Jennifer Dannheim
- Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Michela De Dominicis
- National Oceanography Centre, Joseph Proudman Building, 6 Brownlow Street, Liverpool, L3 5DA, UK
| | - Steven Degraer
- Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Operational Directory Natural Environment, Marine Ecology and Management, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Michael Elliott
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Hull, HU6 7RX, UK; International Estuarine & Coastal Specialists (IECS) Ltd., Leven, HU17 5LQ, UK
| | - Paul G Fernandes
- Heriot-Watt University, The Lyell Centre, Research Avenue South, Edinburgh, EH14 4AP, UK
| | - Ashley M Fowler
- New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Mosman, NSW, 2088, Australia
| | - Matt Frost
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, The Hoe Plymouth, Prospect Place, Devon, PL13DH, UK
| | - Lea-Anne Henry
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings Campus, James Hutton Road, EH9 3FE, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Natalie Hicks
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, UK
| | - Kieran Hyder
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Lowestoft, UK; School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Sylvia Jagerroos
- King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Daniel O B Jones
- National Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK
| | - Milton Love
- Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, USA
| | - Christopher P Lynam
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Lowestoft, UK
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Deakin University, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Burwood, Australia
| | - Joseph Marlow
- Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), Oban, UK
| | - Ninon Mavraki
- Wageningen Marine Research, Ankerpark 27, 1781 AG, Den Helder, Netherlands
| | - Dianne McLean
- The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, 6009, Australia; Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), Perth, Australia
| | - Paul A Montagna
- Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX, USA
| | - David M Paterson
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 8LB, UK
| | - Martin Perrow
- Department of Geography, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Joanne Porter
- International Centre Island Technology, Heriot-Watt University, Orkney Campus, Stromness, Orkney, UK
| | | | | | | | - Brooke Shipley
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Coastal Fisheries - Artificial Reef Program, USA
| | - Sean van Elden
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, 6009, Australia
| | - Jan Vanaverbeke
- Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Operational Directory Natural Environment, Marine Ecology and Management, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Andrew Want
- Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull, HU6 7RX, UK
| | - Stephen C L Watson
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, The Hoe Plymouth, Prospect Place, Devon, PL13DH, UK
| | | | - Paul Somerfield
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, The Hoe Plymouth, Prospect Place, Devon, PL13DH, UK
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Liu S, Liang J, Jiang Z, Li J, Wu Y, Fang Y, Ren Y, Zhang X, Huang X, Macreadie PI. Temporal and spatial variations of air-sea CO 2 fluxes and their key influence factors in seagrass meadows of Hainan Island, South China Sea. Sci Total Environ 2024; 910:168684. [PMID: 37981158 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2022] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/21/2023]
Abstract
Seagrass ecosystems have received a great deal of attention for contributing to uptake of atmospheric CO2, and thereby helping to mitigate global climate change ('blue carbon'). Carbon budgets for seagrass ecosystems are developed by estimating air-sea CO2 fluxes. Data for air-sea CO2 flux for tropical seagrass ecosystems are lacking, which is problematic for constraining global seagrass carbon budgets. Here, we sought to address this important data gap for tropical seagrass ecosystems (dominated by Thalassia hemprichii and Enhalus acoroides) from the Hainan Island of South China Sea, while also testing what the main factors driving the variations of air-sea CO2 fluxes are. We found that air-sea CO2 fluxes exhibited a U-shape diurnal variability from 6 a.m. to 6 a.m. of the next day, with the highest and lowest air-sea CO2 fluxes values at early morning and afternoon, respectively. Biological processes were the driving force for mediating diurnal variations of seawater pCO2. The pCO2, sea in different seasons displayed a trend of increasing from spring, reaching maximum in summer and then a decreasing trend after summer, where water temperature, wind speed and seagrass growth mainly drove the variations. This resulted in net uptake of CO2 in all seasons except during summer in our study seagrass ecosystems, with greater negative values found in autumn (-3.63 ± 0.76 mmol m-2 d-1) than those in winter (-2.84 ± 0.60 mmol m-2 d-1). While the nutrient loading induced seagrass biomass changes (especially the seagrass T. hemprichii), which mediated the air-sea CO2 fluxes changes among different seagrass meadows. Net annual CO2 uptake potential under low nutrient loading (-0.77 ± 0.16 mol m-2 yr-1) was 23-54 % greater than high nutrient loading seagrass meadows, with the average annual air-sea CO2 flux of the three seagrass meadows as -0.64 ± 0.13 mol m-2 yr-1. These results suggest that tropical seagrass meadows of Hainan Island are a significant CO2 sink of atmospheric CO2, but this capacity can be diminished by nutrient loading. Scaling up, we estimate the annual atmospheric CO2 uptake by seagrass meadows of Hainan Island (total area 55.28 km2) was 1544 t of CO2 yr-1, equivalent to the annual emissions from the wholesale, retail, accommodation and catering industries of 164,000 tourists in Hainan Island. With carbon neutrality becoming an important part of global climate governance, this study provides timely information for capitalising on the ability of seagrasses to contribute to natural climate solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Songlin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Jiening Liang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Zhijian Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Jinlong Li
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Yunchao Wu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572100, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Yang Fang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Yuzheng Ren
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Xia Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572100, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Xiaoping Huang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China.
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
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Knights AM, Lemasson AJ, Firth LB, Beaumont N, Birchenough S, Claisse J, Coolen JWP, Copping A, De Dominicis M, Degraer S, Elliott M, Fernandes PG, Fowler AM, Frost M, Henry LA, Hicks N, Hyder K, Jagerroos S, Love M, Lynam C, Macreadie PI, McLean D, Marlow J, Mavraki N, Montagna PA, Paterson DM, Perrow MR, Porter J, Bull AS, Schratzberger M, Shipley B, van Elden S, Vanaverbeke J, Want A, Watson SCL, Wilding TA, Somerfield PJ. To what extent can decommissioning options for marine artificial structures move us toward environmental targets? J Environ Manage 2024; 350:119644. [PMID: 38000275 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
Switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy is key to international energy transition efforts and the move toward net zero. For many nations, this requires decommissioning of hundreds of oil and gas infrastructure in the marine environment. Current international, regional and national legislation largely dictates that structures must be completely removed at end-of-life although, increasingly, alternative decommissioning options are being promoted and implemented. Yet, a paucity of real-world case studies describing the impacts of decommissioning on the environment make decision-making with respect to which option(s) might be optimal for meeting international and regional strategic environmental targets challenging. To address this gap, we draw together international expertise and judgment from marine environmental scientists on marine artificial structures as an alternative source of evidence that explores how different decommissioning options might ameliorate pressures that drive environmental status toward (or away) from environmental objectives. Synthesis reveals that for 37 United Nations and Oslo-Paris Commissions (OSPAR) global and regional environmental targets, experts consider repurposing or abandoning individual structures, or abandoning multiple structures across a region, as the options that would most strongly contribute toward targets. This collective view suggests complete removal may not be best for the environment or society. However, different decommissioning options act in different ways and make variable contributions toward environmental targets, such that policy makers and managers would likely need to prioritise some targets over others considering political, social, economic, and ecological contexts. Current policy may not result in optimal outcomes for the environment or society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antony M Knights
- University of Plymouth, School of Biological and Marine Sciences, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK.
| | - Anaëlle J Lemasson
- University of Plymouth, School of Biological and Marine Sciences, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK
| | - Louise B Firth
- University of Plymouth, School of Biological and Marine Sciences, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK
| | - Nicola Beaumont
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, Devon, PL1 3DH, UK
| | - Silvana Birchenough
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR33 0HT, UK
| | - Jeremy Claisse
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA, 91768, USA; Vantuna Research Group, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA, 90041, USA
| | - Joop W P Coolen
- Wageningen Marine Research, Ankerpark 27, 1781, AG, Den Helder, the Netherlands
| | - Andrea Copping
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and University of Washington, Seattle, USA
| | | | - Steven Degraer
- Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Operational Directory Natural Environment, Marine Ecology and Management, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Michael Elliott
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Hull, HU6 7RX, UK; International Estuarine & Coastal Specialists (IECS) Ltd., Leven, HU17 5LQ, UK
| | - Paul G Fernandes
- Heriot-Watt University, The Lyell Centre, Research Avenue South, Edinburgh, EH14 4AP, UK
| | - Ashley M Fowler
- New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Mosman, NSW, 2088, Australia
| | - Matthew Frost
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, Devon, PL1 3DH, UK
| | - Lea-Anne Henry
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings Campus, James Hutton Road, EH9 3FE, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Natalie Hicks
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, UK
| | - Kieran Hyder
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR33 0HT, UK; School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Sylvia Jagerroos
- King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Milton Love
- Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, USA
| | - Chris Lynam
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR33 0HT, UK
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Deakin University, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Burwood, Australia
| | - Dianne McLean
- Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), Perth, Australia; The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, 6009, Australia
| | - Joseph Marlow
- Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), Oban, UK
| | - Ninon Mavraki
- Wageningen Marine Research, Ankerpark 27, 1781, AG, Den Helder, the Netherlands
| | - Paul A Montagna
- Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX, USA
| | - David M Paterson
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 8LB, UK
| | - Martin R Perrow
- Department of Geography, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Joanne Porter
- International Centre Island Technology, Heriot-Watt University, Orkney Campus, Stromness, Orkney, UK
| | | | - Michaela Schratzberger
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR33 0HT, UK
| | - Brooke Shipley
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Coastal Fisheries - Artificial Reef Program, USA
| | - Sean van Elden
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, 6009, Australia
| | - Jan Vanaverbeke
- Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Operational Directory Natural Environment, Marine Ecology and Management, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Andrew Want
- Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull, HU6 7RX, UK
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9
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Lu Z, Qin G, Gan S, Liu H, Macreadie PI, Cheah W, Wang F. Blue carbon sink capacity of mangroves determined by leaves and their associated microbiome. Glob Chang Biol 2024; 30:e17007. [PMID: 37916453 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
Mangroves play a globally significant role in carbon capture and storage, known as blue carbon ecosystems. Yet, there are fundamental biogeochemical processes of mangrove blue carbon formation that are inadequately understood, such as the mechanisms by which mangrove afforestation regulates the microbial-driven transfer of carbon from leaf to below-ground blue carbon pool. In this study, we addressed this knowledge gap by investigating: (1) the mangrove leaf characteristics using state-of-the-art FT-ICR-MS; (2) the microbial biomass and their transformation patterns of assimilated plant-carbon; and (3) the degradation potentials of plant-derived carbon in soils of an introduced (Sonneratia apetala) and a native mangrove (Kandelia obovata). We found that biogeochemical cycling took entirely different pathways for S. apetala and K. obovata. Blue carbon accumulation and the proportion of plant-carbon for native mangroves were high, with microbes (dominated by K-strategists) allocating the assimilated-carbon to starch and sucrose metabolism. Conversely, microbes with S. apetala adopted an r-strategy and increased protein- and nucleotide-biosynthetic potentials. These divergent biogeochemical pathways were related to leaf characteristics, with S. apetala leaves characterized by lower molecular-weight, C:N ratio, and lignin content than K. obovata. Moreover, anaerobic-degradation potentials for lignin were high in old-aged soils, but the overall degradation potentials of plant carbon were age-independent, explaining that S. apetala age had no significant influences on the contribution of plant-carbon to blue carbon. We propose that for introduced mangroves, newly fallen leaves release nutrient-rich organic matter that favors growth of r-strategists, which rapidly consume carbon to fuel growth, increasing the proportion of microbial-carbon to blue carbon. In contrast, lignin-rich native mangrove leaves shape K-strategist-dominated microbial communities, which grow slowly and store assimilated-carbon in cells, ultimately promoting the contribution of plant-carbon to the remarkable accumulation of blue carbon. Our study provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms of microbial community responses during reforestation in mangrove ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhe Lu
- Xiaoliang Research Station of Tropical Coastal Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, the CAS Engineering Laboratory for Ecological Restoration of Island and Coastal Ecosystems, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, P.R. China
- South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Guoming Qin
- Xiaoliang Research Station of Tropical Coastal Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, the CAS Engineering Laboratory for Ecological Restoration of Island and Coastal Ecosystems, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, P.R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Shuchai Gan
- Xiaoliang Research Station of Tropical Coastal Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, the CAS Engineering Laboratory for Ecological Restoration of Island and Coastal Ecosystems, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, P.R. China
- South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Hongbin Liu
- Department of Ocean Sciences and Division of Life Sciences, School of Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, P.R. China
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood Campus, Burwood, Victoria, Australia
| | - Wee Cheah
- Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Faming Wang
- Xiaoliang Research Station of Tropical Coastal Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, the CAS Engineering Laboratory for Ecological Restoration of Island and Coastal Ecosystems, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, P.R. China
- South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, P.R. China
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10
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Zhao W, Li X, Xue L, Lin S, Ma Y, Su L, Li Z, Gong L, Yan Z, Macreadie PI. Mapping trade-offs among key ecosystem functions in tidal marsh to inform spatial management policy for exotic Spartina alterniflora. J Environ Manage 2023; 348:119216. [PMID: 37839209 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 09/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
Invasive Spartina alterniflora has become a global management challenge in coastal wetlands. China has decided to eradicate it completely, but the high costs and its provision of beneficial ecosystem functions (EF, in the form of blue carbon and coastal protection) have raised concerns about its removal. Here, using the Yangtze Estuary as a case study, we explore a reasonable pathway of S. alterniflora management that balanced control of invasive species and EF. We simulated the spatial patterns of two key EF - blue carbon storage and wave attenuation - and identified appropriate zones for eradicating S. alterniflora based on their trade-offs. We observed contrasting patterns along the land-sea gradient for S. alterniflora community, with a decrease in blue carbon storage and an increase in wave attenuation. Notably, pioneer S. alterniflora near the foreshore displayed a high cluster of blue carbon storage (63.61 ± 7.33 Mg C ha-1) and dissipated nearly 70% of wave energy by a width of 163 m. The trade-offs between the two EF indicated that the eradication project should be implemented along the seawall rather than the foreshore. Even in the scenario of prioritized shore defense with the largest eradication zone, S. alterniflora still stored 43.1% more carbon (10.67 Gg C) compared to complete eradication and dissipated over 70% of wave energy in extreme events. Our study innovatively integrates eradication and reservation in S. alterniflora management, providing a sustainable and flexible spatial strategy that meets the needs of stakeholders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenzhen Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Yangtze Delta Estuarine Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education and Shanghai Science and Technology Committee, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiuzhen Li
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Yangtze Delta Estuarine Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education and Shanghai Science and Technology Committee, Shanghai, China.
| | - Liming Xue
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Yangtze Delta Estuarine Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education and Shanghai Science and Technology Committee, Shanghai, China
| | - Shiwei Lin
- College of Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
| | - Yuxi Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Yangtze Delta Estuarine Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education and Shanghai Science and Technology Committee, Shanghai, China
| | - Lin Su
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Yangtze Delta Estuarine Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education and Shanghai Science and Technology Committee, Shanghai, China
| | - Zeyuan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Yangtze Delta Estuarine Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education and Shanghai Science and Technology Committee, Shanghai, China
| | - Lv Gong
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Yangtze Delta Estuarine Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education and Shanghai Science and Technology Committee, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhongzheng Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Yangtze Delta Estuarine Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education and Shanghai Science and Technology Committee, Shanghai, China
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Australia
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11
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Liu S, Ren Y, Jiang Z, Luo H, Zhang X, Wu Y, Liang J, Huang X, Macreadie PI. Changes in surface sediment carbon compositions in response to tropical seagrass meadow restoration. Sci Total Environ 2023; 903:166565. [PMID: 37633380 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 08/28/2023]
Abstract
Seagrass meadows are declining at a global scale, threatening their capacity as blue carbon sinks. Restoration of seagrasses (via seagrass seeds or plant transplantation) may recover their carbon sequestration capacity. Previous studies have predominantly focused on sediment organic carbon (SOC), while variations in sediment carbon compositions remain poorly understood, limiting our comprehension of the influence of seagrass restoration on sediment carbon stability. Here, we researched the differences in surface (0-3 cm) sediment carbon compositions in response to tropical seagrass transplantation among species (Thalassia hemprichii and Enhalus acoroides); specifically, differences in labile, recalcitrant and refractory SOC, as well as sediment inorganic carbon (SIC) compositions variations under transplanted T. hemprichii and E. acoroides communities. It was found that seagrass transplantation enhanced suspended particle organic matter, and epiphyte and macroalgae input to surface sediment, which recovered the surface SOC concentration and stock rapidly to natural levels (increased ∼1.6-fold) within two years following transplantation. The elevated contribution of epiphyte and macroalgae significantly increased the surface labile sediment organic matter (SOM), but not the recalcitrant and refractory SOM composition after short-term transplantation. Meanwhile, surface SIC was significantly elevated, which might be mainly ascribed to allochthonous carbonate particle trapped under transplanted area with implications for carbon sequestration. The higher canopy and longer leaf seagrass species, E. acoroides, had elevated SOC, SIC and was more labile composition, compared to T. hemprichii transplant. Overall, this research suggests that tropical seagrass transplantation can increase the surface SOC, SIC concentration by increasing the labile organic matter and allochthonous carbonate particle input, respectively, with varying significantly among seagrass species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Songlin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Yuzheng Ren
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Zhijian Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Hongxue Luo
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Xia Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572100, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Yunchao Wu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572100, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Jiening Liang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Xiaoping Huang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya 572100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China.
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
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12
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Maxwell TL, Rovai AS, Adame MF, Adams JB, Álvarez-Rogel J, Austin WEN, Beasy K, Boscutti F, Böttcher ME, Bouma TJ, Bulmer RH, Burden A, Burke SA, Camacho S, Chaudhary DR, Chmura GL, Copertino M, Cott GM, Craft C, Day J, de Los Santos CB, Denis L, Ding W, Ellison JC, Ewers Lewis CJ, Giani L, Gispert M, Gontharet S, González-Pérez JA, González-Alcaraz MN, Gorham C, Graversen AEL, Grey A, Guerra R, He Q, Holmquist JR, Jones AR, Juanes JA, Kelleher BP, Kohfeld KE, Krause-Jensen D, Lafratta A, Lavery PS, Laws EA, Leiva-Dueñas C, Loh PS, Lovelock CE, Lundquist CJ, Macreadie PI, Mazarrasa I, Megonigal JP, Neto JM, Nogueira J, Osland MJ, Pagès JF, Perera N, Pfeiffer EM, Pollmann T, Raw JL, Recio M, Ruiz-Fernández AC, Russell SK, Rybczyk JM, Sammul M, Sanders C, Santos R, Serrano O, Siewert M, Smeaton C, Song Z, Trasar-Cepeda C, Twilley RR, Van de Broek M, Vitti S, Antisari LV, Voltz B, Wails CN, Ward RD, Ward M, Wolfe J, Yang R, Zubrzycki S, Landis E, Smart L, Spalding M, Worthington TA. Global dataset of soil organic carbon in tidal marshes. Sci Data 2023; 10:797. [PMID: 37952023 PMCID: PMC10640612 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02633-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Tidal marshes store large amounts of organic carbon in their soils. Field data quantifying soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks provide an important resource for researchers, natural resource managers, and policy-makers working towards the protection, restoration, and valuation of these ecosystems. We collated a global dataset of tidal marsh soil organic carbon (MarSOC) from 99 studies that includes location, soil depth, site name, dry bulk density, SOC, and/or soil organic matter (SOM). The MarSOC dataset includes 17,454 data points from 2,329 unique locations, and 29 countries. We generated a general transfer function for the conversion of SOM to SOC. Using this data we estimated a median (± median absolute deviation) value of 79.2 ± 38.1 Mg SOC ha-1 in the top 30 cm and 231 ± 134 Mg SOC ha-1 in the top 1 m of tidal marsh soils globally. This data can serve as a basis for future work, and may contribute to incorporation of tidal marsh ecosystems into climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies and policies.
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Grants
- W912HZ2020070 United States Department of Defense | United States Army | US Army Corps of Engineers | Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center)
- 84375 NRF | South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA)
- The Nature Conservancy through the Bezos Earth Fund and other donor support
- Nelson Mandela University
- State Research Agency of Spain (AEI; CGL2007-64915), the Mancomunidad de los Canales del Taibilla (MCT), and the Science and Technology Agency of the Murcia Region (Seneca Foundation; 00593/PI/04 & 08739/PI/08).
- Scottish Government and UK Natural Environment Research Council C-SIDE project (grant NE/R010846/1)
- COOLSTYLE/CARBOSTORE project
- New Zealand Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment Contract #C01X2109
- Portuguese national funds from FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology through projects UIDB/04326/2020, UIDP/04326/2020, LA/P/0101/2020, and 2020.03825.CEECIND
- German Research Foundation (DFG project number: GI 171/25-1)
- State Research Agency of Spain (AEI; CGL2007-64915), the Mancomunidad de los Canales del Taibilla (MCT), the Science and Technology Agency of the Murcia Region (Seneca Foundation; 00593/PI/04 & 08739/PI/08), and a Ramón y Cajal contract from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RYC2020-029322-I)
- Velux foundation (#28421, Blå Skove – Havets Skove som kulstofdræn)
- LIFE ADAPTA BLUES project Ref. LIFE18 CCA/ES/001160
- LIFE ADAPTA BLUES project Ref. LIFE18 CCA/ES/001160, support of national funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, I.P. (FCT), under the projects UIDB/04292/2020, UIDP/04292/2020, granted to MARE, and LA/P/0069/2020, granted to the Associate Laboratory ARNET
- Financial support provided by the Welsh Government and Higher Education Funding Council for Wales through the Sêr Cymru National Research Network for Low Carbon, Energy and Environment; as well as the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (project PID2020-113745RB-I00) and FEDER
- South African Department of Science and Innovation (DSI)—National Research Foundation (NRF) Research Chair in Shallow Water Ecosystems (UID: 84375), and the Nelson Mandela University
- I+D+i projects RYC2019-027073-I and PIE HOLOCENO 20213AT014 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and FEDER
- Funding support from the Scottish Government and UK Natural Environment Research Council C-SIDE project (grant NE/R010846/1)
- Xunta de Galicia (GRC project IN607A 2021-06)
- U.S. Army Engineering, Research and Development Center (ACTIONS project, W912HZ2020070)
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Affiliation(s)
- Tania L Maxwell
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria.
| | - André S Rovai
- Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, College of the Coast and Environment, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA.
- US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS, 39183, USA.
| | - Maria Fernanda Adame
- Australian Rivers Institute, Centre for Marine and Coastal Research, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, 4117, Australia
| | - Janine B Adams
- DSI-NRF Research Chair in Shallow Water Ecosystems, Institute for Coastal Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University, PO Box 77000, Gqeberha, 6031, South Africa
| | - José Álvarez-Rogel
- Department of Agricultural Engineering of the E.T.S.I.A. and Soil Ecology and Biotechnology Unit of the I.B.V., Technical University of Cartagena, 30203, Cartagena, Spain
| | - William E N Austin
- School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, KY16 9AL, St Andrews, UK
- Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, Argyll, PA37 1QA, UK
| | - Kim Beasy
- College of Arts, Law and Education, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, 7005, Australia
| | - Francesco Boscutti
- Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, via delle Scienze 206, Udine, 33100, Italy
| | - Michael E Böttcher
- Geochemistry and Isotope Biogeochemistry Group, Department of Marine Geology, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research (IOW), Seestrasse 15, D-18119, Warnemünde, Germany
- Marine Geochemistry, University of Greifswald, Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn Str. 17a, D-17489, Greifswald, Germany
- Interdisciplinary Faculty, University of Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Strase 21, D-18059, Rostock, Germany
| | - Tjeerd J Bouma
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), 4401 NT, Yerseke, The Netherlands
- Faculty of Geosciences, Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Delta Academy Applied Research Centre, HZ University of Applied Sciences, Postbus 364, 4380 AJ, Vlissingen, The Netherlands
| | | | | | - Shannon A Burke
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, D04 V1W8, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Saritta Camacho
- CIMA - Centro de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Faro, Portugal
| | | | - Gail L Chmura
- McGill University Department of Geography, Montreal, Canada
| | - Margareth Copertino
- Institute of Oceanography - Federal University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Brazil
- Brazilian Network for Global Change Studies - Rede CLIMA, Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - Grace M Cott
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, D04 V1W8, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Christopher Craft
- O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA
- University of Georgia Marine Institute, Sapelo Island, Georgia, USA
| | - John Day
- Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, College of the Coast and Environment, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA
| | | | - Lionel Denis
- Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, CNRS, Univ. Lille, UMR 8187 - LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, 32, Avenue Foch, F-62930, Wimereux, France
| | - Weixin Ding
- Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Joanna C Ellison
- School of Geography, Planning Spatial Sciences, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania, 7250, Australia
| | - Carolyn J Ewers Lewis
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, 221 McCormick Road, Charlottesville, Virginia, 22903, USA
| | - Luise Giani
- Institute for Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstrase 114-118, D-26129, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Maria Gispert
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Agriculture and Food Technology, Universitat de Girona, 17003, Girona, Spain
| | - Swanne Gontharet
- LOCEAN UMR 7159 Sorbonne Université/CNRS/IRD/MNHN, 4 place Jussieu - boite 100, F-75252, Paris, France
| | | | - M Nazaret González-Alcaraz
- Department of Agricultural Engineering of the E.T.S.I.A. and Soil Ecology and Biotechnology Unit of the I.B.V., Technical University of Cartagena, 30203, Cartagena, Spain
| | - Connor Gorham
- School of Sciences Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia
| | | | - Anthony Grey
- School of Chemical Science, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Roberta Guerra
- Department of Physics and Astronomy (DIFA), Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Qiang He
- Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | | | - Alice R Jones
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
- The Environment Institute, Adelaide, Australia
| | - José A Juanes
- IHCantabria, Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental de la Universidad de Cantabria, PCTCAN, 39011, Santander, Spain
| | - Brian P Kelleher
- School of Chemical Science, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Karen E Kohfeld
- School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, V5A 1S6, Canada
- School of Environmental Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, V5A 1S6, Canada
| | | | - Anna Lafratta
- School of Sciences Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia
| | - Paul S Lavery
- School of Sciences Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia
- Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEAB-CSIC), 17300, Blanes, Catalunya, Spain
| | - Edward A Laws
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA
| | | | | | | | - Carolyn J Lundquist
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Hamilton, 3251, New Zealand
- School of Environment, University of Auckland, New Zealand, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Deakin University, Centre for Marine Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Burwood, Victoria, 3125, Australia
| | - Inés Mazarrasa
- IHCantabria, Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental de la Universidad de Cantabria, PCTCAN, 39011, Santander, Spain
| | | | - Joao M Neto
- MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre/ARNET - Aquatic Research Network, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Juliana Nogueira
- LARAMG - Radioecology and Climate Change Laboratory, Department of Biophysics and Biometry, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, 20550-013, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Michael J Osland
- U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Lafayette, Louisiana, 70506, USA
| | - Jordi F Pagès
- Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEAB-CSIC), 17300, Blanes, Catalunya, Spain
| | - Nipuni Perera
- Department of Zoology and Environment Sciences, University of Colombo, Colombo, 03, Sri Lanka
| | | | - Thomas Pollmann
- Institute for Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstrase 114-118, D-26129, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Jacqueline L Raw
- DSI-NRF Research Chair in Shallow Water Ecosystems, Institute for Coastal Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University, PO Box 77000, Gqeberha, 6031, South Africa
| | - María Recio
- IHCantabria, Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental de la Universidad de Cantabria, PCTCAN, 39011, Santander, Spain
| | - Ana Carolina Ruiz-Fernández
- Unidad Académica Mazatlán, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Sophie K Russell
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
- The Environment Institute, Adelaide, Australia
| | | | - Marek Sammul
- Elva Gymnasium, Puiestee 2, Elva, 61505, Estonia
| | - Christian Sanders
- National Marine Science Centre, School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, P.O. Box 157, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2540, Australia
| | - Rui Santos
- Centre of Marine Sciences of Algarve, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Oscar Serrano
- School of Sciences Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia
- Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEAB-CSIC), 17300, Blanes, Catalunya, Spain
| | - Matthias Siewert
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Craig Smeaton
- School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, KY16 9AL, St Andrews, UK
| | - Zhaoliang Song
- School of Earth System Science, Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
| | - Carmen Trasar-Cepeda
- Departamento de Suelos, Biosistemas y Ecología Agroforestal, MBG sede Santiago (CSIC), Apartado 122, E-15780, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Robert R Twilley
- Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, College of the Coast and Environment, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA
| | - Marijn Van de Broek
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Stefano Vitti
- Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, via delle Scienze 206, Udine, 33100, Italy
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 10, 34127, Trieste, Italy
| | - Livia Vittori Antisari
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agro-alimentari, Viale G. Fanin, 40 - 40127, Bologna, Italy
| | - Baptiste Voltz
- Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, CNRS, Univ. Lille, UMR 8187 - LOG - Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, 32, Avenue Foch, F-62930, Wimereux, France
| | - Christy N Wails
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24060, USA
| | - Raymond D Ward
- Centre For Aquatic Environments, University of Brighton, Moulsecoomb, Brighton, BN2 4GJ, UK
- Institute of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Estonia University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5, EE-51014, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Melissa Ward
- University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- San Diego State University, San Diego, USA
| | - Jaxine Wolfe
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, USA
| | - Renmin Yang
- School of Earth System Science, Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
| | - Sebastian Zubrzycki
- Center of Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN), Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | | | - Lindsey Smart
- The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA, USA
- Center for Geospatial Analytics, College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University, 2800 Faucette Drive, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Mark Spalding
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- The Nature Conservancy, Strada delle Tolfe, 14, Siena, 53100, Italy
| | - Thomas A Worthington
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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13
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Pétillon J, McKinley E, Alexander M, Adams JB, Angelini C, Balke T, Griffin JN, Bouma T, Hacker S, He Q, Hensel MJS, Ibáñez C, Macreadie PI, Martino S, Sharps E, Ballinger R, de Battisti D, Beaumont N, Burdon D, Daleo P, D'Alpaos A, Duggan-Edwards M, Garbutt A, Jenkins S, Ladd CJT, Lewis H, Mariotti G, McDermott O, Mills R, Möller I, Nolte S, Pagès JF, Silliman B, Zhang L, Skov MW. Top ten priorities for global saltmarsh restoration, conservation and ecosystem service research. Sci Total Environ 2023; 898:165544. [PMID: 37453706 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Coastal saltmarshes provide globally important ecosystem services including 'blue carbon' sequestration, flood protection, pollutant remediation, habitat provision and cultural value. Large portions of marshes have been lost or fragmented as a result of land reclamation, embankment construction, and pollution. Sea level rise threatens marsh survival by blocking landward migration where coastlines have been developed. Research-informed saltmarsh conservation and restoration efforts are helping to prevent further loss, yet significant knowledge gaps remain. Using a mixed methods approach, this paper identifies ten research priorities through an online questionnaire and a residential workshop attended by an international, multi-disciplinary network of 35 saltmarsh experts spanning natural, physical and social sciences across research, policy, and practitioner sectors. Priorities have been grouped under four thematic areas of research: Saltmarsh Area Extent, Change and Restoration Potential (including past, present, global variation), Spatio-social contexts of Ecosystem Service delivery (e.g. influences of environmental context, climate change, and stakeholder groups on service provisioning), Patterns and Processes in saltmarsh functioning (global drivers of saltmarsh ecosystem structure/function) and Management and Policy Needs (how management varies contextually; challenges/opportunities for management). Although not intended to be exhaustive, the challenges, opportunities, and strategies for addressing each research priority examined here, providing a blueprint of the work that needs to be done to protect saltmarshes for future generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Pétillon
- UMR CNRS ECOBIO, University of Rennes, 35042 Rennes, France; Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Department of Botany, Nelson Mandela University, Summerstrand Campus, Gqeberha 6031, South Africa.
| | - Emma McKinley
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK
| | - Meghan Alexander
- School of Geography, University of Nottingham, University Park Campus, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Janine B Adams
- Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Department of Botany, Nelson Mandela University, Summerstrand Campus, Gqeberha 6031, South Africa
| | - Christine Angelini
- Environmental School for Sustainable Infrastructure and the Environment, University of Florida, Weil Hall 365, 1949 Stadium Road, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Thorsten Balke
- School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - John N Griffin
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Tjeerd Bouma
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Yerseke, the Netherlands; Faculty of Geosciences, Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Building with Nature group, HZ University of Applied Sciences, Vlissingen, the Netherlands
| | - Sally Hacker
- Department of Integrative Biology, 3029 Cordley Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
| | - Qiang He
- Duke University Marine Lab, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
| | - Marc J S Hensel
- Department of Environmental Biology, University of Massachusetts, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125, USA
| | - Carles Ibáñez
- Climate Change Department, Area of Sustainability, Eurecat - Technological Centre of Catalonia, 43870 Amposta, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
| | | | - Elwyn Sharps
- School of Geography, University of Nottingham, University Park Campus, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK; RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL, UK; Natural Resources Wales, TY Cambria, Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - Rhoda Ballinger
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK
| | - Davide de Battisti
- Chioggia Hydrobiological Station "Umberto D'Ancona", Department of Biology, University of Padova, Palazzo Grassi, Calle Grassi Naccari 1060, 30015 Chioggia, Ve, Italy
| | - Nicola Beaumont
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, Plymouth PL1 3DH, UK
| | - Daryl Burdon
- Daryl Burdon Ltd., Marine Research, Teaching and Consultancy, Willerby HU10 6LL, UK
| | - Pedro Daleo
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), UNMDP - CONICET, CC 1260 Correo Central, B7600WAG Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Andrea D'Alpaos
- Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, via G. Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | | | - Angus Garbutt
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Rd, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Stuart Jenkins
- School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge, Anglesey LL59 5AB, UK
| | - Cai J T Ladd
- School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Heather Lewis
- Natural Resources Wales, TY Cambria, Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - Giulio Mariotti
- Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, 1002-Q Energy, Coast and Environment Building, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
| | - Osgur McDermott
- World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), UN-Environment, 219 Huntingdon Rd, Cambridge CB3 0DL, UK
| | - Rachael Mills
- Natural England, Foss House, Kings Pool, 1-2 Peasholme Green, York YO1 7PX, UK
| | - Iris Möller
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EN, UK
| | - Stefanie Nolte
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR47TJ, UK; Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft NR33 0HT, UK
| | - Jordi F Pagès
- School of Geography, University of Nottingham, University Park Campus, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Brian Silliman
- Department of Integrative Biology, 3029 Cordley Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
| | - Liquan Zhang
- State Key Lab. of Estuarine and Coastal Research (SKLEC), East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Martin W Skov
- School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge, Anglesey LL59 5AB, UK
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14
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Araya‐Lopez R, de Paula Costa MD, Wartman M, Macreadie PI. Trends in the application of remote sensing in blue carbon science. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10559. [PMID: 37745789 PMCID: PMC10517596 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs), such as mangroves, saltmarshes, and seagrasses, are increasingly recognized as natural climate solutions. Evaluating the current extent, losses, and gains of BCEs is crucial to estimating greenhouse gas emissions and supporting policymaking. Remote sensing approaches are uniquely suited to assess the factors driving BCEs dynamics and their impacts at various spatial and temporal scales. Here, we explored trends in the application of remote sensing in blue carbon science. We used bibliometric analysis to assess 2193 published papers for changes in research focus over time (1990 - June 2022). Over the past three decades, publications have steadily increased, with an annual growth rate of 16.9%. Most publications focused on mangrove ecosystems and used the optical spaceborne Landsat mission, presumably due to its long-term, open-access archives. Recent technologies such as LiDAR, UAVs, and acoustic sensors have enabled fine-scale mapping and monitoring of BCEs. Dominant research topics were related to mapping and monitoring natural and human impacts on BCEs, estimating vegetation and biophysical parameters, machine and deep learning algorithms, management (including conservation and restoration), and climate research. Based on corresponding author affiliations, 80 countries contributed to the field, with United States (27.2%), China (15.0%), Australia (7.5%), and India (6.0%) holding leading positions. Overall, our results reveal the need to increase research efforts for seagrasses, saltmarshes, and macroalgae, integrate technologies, increase the use of remote sensing to support carbon accounting methodologies and crediting schemes, and strengthen collaboration and resource sharing among countries. Rapid advances in remote sensing technology and decreased image acquisition and processing costs will likely enhance research and management efforts focused on BCEs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rocio Araya‐Lopez
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental SciencesDeakin UniversityBurwoodVictoriaAustralia
| | | | - Melissa Wartman
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental SciencesDeakin UniversityBurwoodVictoriaAustralia
| | - Peter I. Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental SciencesDeakin UniversityBurwoodVictoriaAustralia
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15
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Watson SM, McLean DL, Balcom BJ, Birchenough SNR, Brand AM, Camprasse ECM, Claisse JT, Coolen JWP, Cresswell T, Fokkema B, Gourvenec S, Henry LA, Hewitt CL, Love MS, MacIntosh AE, Marnane M, McKinley E, Micallef S, Morgan D, Nicolette J, Ounanian K, Patterson J, Seath K, Selman AGL, Suthers IM, Todd VLG, Tung A, Macreadie PI. Offshore decommissioning horizon scan: Research priorities to support decision-making activities for oil and gas infrastructure. Sci Total Environ 2023; 878:163015. [PMID: 36965737 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Thousands of oil and gas structures have been installed in the world's oceans over the past 70 years to meet the population's reliance on hydrocarbons. Over the last decade, there has been increased concern over how to handle decommissioning of this infrastructure when it reaches the end of its operational life. Complete or partial removal may or may not present the best option when considering potential impacts on the environment, society, technical feasibility, economy, and future asset liability. Re-purposing of offshore structures may also be a valid legal option under international maritime law where robust evidence exists to support this option. Given the complex nature of decommissioning offshore infrastructure, a global horizon scan was undertaken, eliciting input from an interdisciplinary cohort of 35 global experts to develop the top ten priority research needs to further inform decommissioning decisions and advance our understanding of their potential impacts. The highest research priorities included: (1) an assessment of impacts of contaminants and their acceptable environmental limits to reduce potential for ecological harm; (2) defining risk and acceptability thresholds in policy/governance; (3) characterising liability issues of ongoing costs and responsibility; and (4) quantification of impacts to ecosystem services. The remaining top ten priorities included: (5) quantifying ecological connectivity; (6) assessing marine life productivity; (7) determining feasibility of infrastructure re-use; (8) identification of stakeholder views and values; (9) quantification of greenhouse gas emissions; and (10) developing a transdisciplinary decommissioning decision-making process. Addressing these priorities will help inform policy development and governance frameworks to provide industry and stakeholders with a clearer path forward for offshore decommissioning. The principles and framework developed in this paper are equally applicable for informing responsible decommissioning of offshore renewable energy infrastructure, in particular wind turbines, a field that is accelerating rapidly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M Watson
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Dianne L McLean
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia; Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
| | | | - Silvana N R Birchenough
- The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Lowestoft NR33 0HT, United Kingdom
| | - Alison M Brand
- Manta Environmental Limited, Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Elodie C M Camprasse
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Jeremy T Claisse
- California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA 91786, USA; Vantuna Research Group, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA 90041, USA
| | | | - Tom Cresswell
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, New Illawarra Road, Lucas Heights, New South Wales 2234, Australia
| | - Bert Fokkema
- Shell Global Solutions International B.V., 2596HR The Hague, the Netherlands
| | - Susan Gourvenec
- Centre of Excellence for Intelligent & Resilient Ocean Engineering, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 7QF, UK
| | - Lea-Anne Henry
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings Campus, James Hutton Road, EH9 3FE Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Chad L Hewitt
- Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, Australia; Lincoln University, Lincoln, New Zealand
| | - Milton S Love
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93016, USA
| | - Amy E MacIntosh
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, New Illawarra Road, Lucas Heights, New South Wales 2234, Australia; School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Michael Marnane
- Chevron Energy Technology Pty Ltd, 250 St Georges Terrace, Perth, Western Australia 6000, Australia
| | - Emma McKinley
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
| | - Shannon Micallef
- Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australia
| | - Deborah Morgan
- Xodus Group, Xodus House, Huntly Street, Aberdeen AB10 1RS, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Joseph Nicolette
- Montrose Environmental Solutions Inc., Northridge Road, Sandy Springs, GA 30350, USA
| | - Kristen Ounanian
- Centre for Blue Governance, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | | | - Karen Seath
- Society for Underwater Technology, International Salvage & Decommissioning Committee, UK; Karen Seath Solutions, Anstruther, Scotland, UK
| | - Allison G L Selman
- Asset Lifecycle Manager, Atteris Pty Ltd, Perth, Western Australia 6000, Australia
| | - Iain M Suthers
- School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Victoria L G Todd
- Ocean Science Consulting Ltd., Spott Road, Dunbar, East Lothian EH42 1RR, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Aaron Tung
- University of Aberdeen, School of Law, Aberdeen, UK; Curtin Institute for Energy Transition, Technology Park, Bentley, Western Australia 6102, Australia; Woodside Energy, Mia Yellagonga, 11 Mount Street, Perth, Western Australia 6000, Australia
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
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16
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Bellgrove A, Macreadie PI, Young MA, Holland OJ, Clark Z, Ierodiaconou D, Carvalho RC, Kennedy D, Miller A. Patterns and drivers of macroalgal 'blue carbon' transport and deposition in near-shore coastal environments. Sci Total Environ 2023:164430. [PMID: 37247743 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 04/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The role of macroalgae (seaweed) as a global contributor to carbon drawdown within marine sediments - termed 'blue carbon' - remains uncertain and controversial. While studies are needed to validate the potential for macroalgal‑carbon sequestration in marine and coastal sediments, fundamental questions regarding the fate of dislodged macroalgal biomass need to be addressed. Evidence suggests macroalgal biomass may be advected and deposited within other vegetated coastal ecosystems and down to the deep ocean; however, contributions to near-shore sediments within coastal waters remain uncertain. In this study a combination of eDNA metabarcoding and surficial sediment sampling informed by seabed mapping from different physical environments was used to test for the presence of macroalgal carbon in near-shore coastal sediments in south-eastern Australia, and the physical factors influencing patterns of macroalgal transport and deposition. DNA products for a total of 68 macroalgal taxa, representing all major macroalgal groups (Phaeophyceae, Rhodophyta, and Chlorophyta) were successfully detected at 112 near-shore locations. These findings confirm the potential for macroalgal biomass to be exported into near-shore sediments and suggest macroalgal carbon donors could be both speciose and diverse. Modelling suggested that macroalgal transport and deposition, and total organic carbon (TOC), are influenced by complex interactions between several physical environmental factors including water depth, sediment grain size, wave orbital velocity, current speed, current direction, and the extent of the infralittoral zone around depositional areas. Extrapolation of the optimised model was used to predict spatial patterns of macroalgal deposition and TOC across the coastline and to identify potentially important carbon sinks. This study builds on recent studies providing empirical evidence for macroalgal biomass deposits in near-shore sediments, and a framework for predicting the spatial distribution of potential carbon sinks and informing future surveys aimed at determining the potential for long-term macroalgal carbon sequestration in marine sediments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alecia Bellgrove
- Deakin University School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Warrnambool, VIC 3280, Australia
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Deakin University School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Mary A Young
- Deakin University School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Warrnambool, VIC 3280, Australia
| | - Owen J Holland
- Deakin University School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Warrnambool, VIC 3280, Australia
| | - Zach Clark
- Deakin University School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Warrnambool, VIC 3280, Australia
| | - Daniel Ierodiaconou
- Deakin University School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Warrnambool, VIC 3280, Australia
| | - Rafael C Carvalho
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Australia
| | - David Kennedy
- School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Australia
| | - Adam Miller
- Deakin University School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Warrnambool, VIC 3280, Australia
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17
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Ross FWR, Boyd PW, Filbee-Dexter K, Watanabe K, Ortega A, Krause-Jensen D, Lovelock C, Sondak CFA, Bach LT, Duarte CM, Serrano O, Beardall J, Tarbuck P, Macreadie PI. Potential role of seaweeds in climate change mitigation. Sci Total Environ 2023; 885:163699. [PMID: 37149169 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Seaweed (macroalgae) has attracted attention globally given its potential for climate change mitigation. A topical and contentious question is: Can seaweeds' contribution to climate change mitigation be enhanced at globally meaningful scales? Here, we provide an overview of the pressing research needs surrounding the potential role of seaweed in climate change mitigation and current scientific consensus via eight key research challenges. There are four categories where seaweed has been suggested to be used for climate change mitigation: 1) protecting and restoring wild seaweed forests with potential climate change mitigation co-benefits; 2) expanding sustainable nearshore seaweed aquaculture with potential climate change mitigation co-benefits; 3) offsetting industrial CO2 emissions using seaweed products for emission abatement; and 4) sinking seaweed into the deep sea to sequester CO2. Uncertainties remain about quantification of the net impact of carbon export from seaweed restoration and seaweed farming sites on atmospheric CO2. Evidence suggests that nearshore seaweed farming contributes to carbon storage in sediments below farm sites, but how scalable is this process? Products from seaweed aquaculture, such as the livestock methane-reducing seaweed Asparagopsis or low carbon food resources show promise for climate change mitigation, yet the carbon footprint and emission abatement potential remains unquantified for most seaweed products. Similarly, purposely cultivating then sinking seaweed biomass in the open ocean raises ecological concerns and the climate change mitigation potential of this concept is poorly constrained. Improving the tracing of seaweed carbon export to ocean sinks is a critical step in seaweed carbon accounting. Despite carbon accounting uncertainties, seaweed provides many other ecosystem services that justify conservation and restoration and the uptake of seaweed aquaculture will contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. However, we caution that verified seaweed carbon accounting and associated sustainability thresholds are needed before large-scale investment into climate change mitigation from seaweed projects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Finnley W R Ross
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood Campus, Burwood, VIC, Australia.
| | - Philip W Boyd
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Karen Filbee-Dexter
- Institute of Marine Research, 4817 His, Norway; UWA Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Kenta Watanabe
- Coastal and Estuarine Environment Research Group, Port and Airport Research Institute, 3-1-1 Nagase, Yokosuka 239-0826, Japan
| | - Alejandra Ortega
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Dorte Krause-Jensen
- Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Ole Rømers Allé, building 1131, Aarhus C 8000, Denmark; Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 1, Aarhus C 8000, Denmark
| | - Catherine Lovelock
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Calvyn F A Sondak
- Department of Oceanography, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, South Korea; Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Sam Ratulangi University, Manado 95115, Indonesia
| | - Lennart T Bach
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Carlos M Duarte
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Sudan; Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Oscar Serrano
- Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEAB-CSIC), Blanes, Spain; School of Science & Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia
| | - John Beardall
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton 3800, Australia; Faculty of Applied Sciences, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Patrick Tarbuck
- Sea Green Pte. Ltd., 60 Paya Lebar Road #06-12, Paya Lebar Square, Singapore 409051, Singapore
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood Campus, Burwood, VIC, Australia
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18
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Tan YM, Coleman RA, Biro P, Dalby O, Jackson EL, Govers LL, Heusinkveld JHT, Macreadie PI, Flindt MR, Dewhurst J, Sherman CDH. Developing seed‐ and shoot‐based restoration approaches for the seagrass,
Zostera muelleri. Restor Ecol 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.13902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yi Mei Tan
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Geelong Victoria Australia
| | - Rhys A. Coleman
- Melbourne Water Corporation Applied Research Docklands Victoria Australia
| | - Peter Biro
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Geelong Victoria Australia
| | - Oliver Dalby
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Geelong Victoria Australia
| | - Emma L. Jackson
- Central Queensland University Australia Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre Gladstone Queensland Australia
| | - Laura L. Govers
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen Groningen Netherlands
- Department of Coastal Studies Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) Texel the Netherlands
| | | | - Peter I. Macreadie
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Burwood Victoria Australia
- Centre for Integrative Ecology Deakin University Burwood Victoria Australia
| | - Mogens R. Flindt
- Department of Biology University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55 DK‐5230 Odense M Denmark
| | - Jack Dewhurst
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Geelong Victoria Australia
| | - Craig D. H. Sherman
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Geelong Victoria Australia
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19
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Dalby O, Pucino N, Tan YM, Jackson EL, Macreadie PI, Coleman RA, Young MA, Ierodiaconou D, Sherman CDH. Identifying spatio‐temporal trends in seagrass meadows to inform future restoration. Restor Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.13787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Oliver Dalby
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Geelong Campus Victoria Australia
| | - Nicolas Pucino
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Warrnambool Campus Victoria Australia
| | - Yi Mei Tan
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Geelong Campus Victoria Australia
| | - Emma L. Jackson
- CQUniversity Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre Gladstone Queensland Australia
| | - Peter I. Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Burwood Campus Victoria Australia
| | - Rhys A. Coleman
- Melbourne Water Applied Research Melbourne Victoria Australia
| | - Mary A. Young
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Warrnambool Campus Victoria Australia
| | - Daniel Ierodiaconou
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Warrnambool Campus Victoria Australia
| | - Craig D. H. Sherman
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Geelong Campus Victoria Australia
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20
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Dencer-Brown AM, Shilland R, Friess D, Herr D, Benson L, Berry NJ, Cifuentes-Jara M, Colas P, Damayanti E, García EL, Gavaldão M, Grimsditch G, Hejnowicz AP, Howard J, Islam ST, Kennedy H, Kivugo RR, Lang'at JKS, Lovelock C, Malleson R, Macreadie PI, Andrade-Medina R, Mohamed A, Pidgeon E, Ramos J, Rosette M, Salim MM, Schoof E, Talukder B, Thomas T, Vanderklift MA, Huxham M. Integrating blue: How do we make nationally determined contributions work for both blue carbon and local coastal communities? Ambio 2022; 51:1978-1993. [PMID: 35503201 PMCID: PMC9063623 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-022-01723-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Blue Carbon Ecosystems (BCEs) help mitigate and adapt to climate change but their integration into policy, such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), remains underdeveloped. Most BCE conservation requires community engagement, hence community-scale projects must be nested within the implementation of NDCs without compromising livelihoods or social justice. Thirty-three experts, drawn from academia, project development and policy, each developed ten key questions for consideration on how to achieve this. These questions were distilled into ten themes, ranked in order of importance, giving three broad categories of people, policy & finance, and science & technology. Critical considerations for success include the need for genuine participation by communities, inclusive project governance, integration of local work into national policies and practices, sustaining livelihoods and income (for example through the voluntary carbon market and/or national Payment for Ecosystem Services and other types of financial compensation schemes) and simplification of carbon accounting and verification methodologies to lower barriers to entry.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Robyn Shilland
- School of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, EH11 4BN, Scotland
| | - Daniel Friess
- Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- NUS Centre for Nature-Based Climate Solutions, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Dorothée Herr
- Global Marine and Polar Program, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland
| | - Lisa Benson
- The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, NR33 0HT, Suffolk, UK
| | | | - Miguel Cifuentes-Jara
- CATIE - Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, Turrialba, 30501, Costa Rica
| | - Patrick Colas
- Conservation Finance Africa Field Division - Conservation International, Ndege Road, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Ellyn Damayanti
- Faculty of Forestry and Environment, IPB University, Bogor, 16680, Indonesia
| | - Elisa López García
- CINVESTAV - Laboratorio de Producción Primaria, Recursos del Mar, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional - Unidad Mérida, Carretera Antigua a Progreso Km 6, CP 97310, Mérida, Yucatán, México
- Resiliencia Azul (NPO), Mogi das Cruzes, Mexico
| | - Marina Gavaldão
- Ubá Sustainability Institute - Blue Carbon Hub, Marseille, France
| | - Gabriel Grimsditch
- United Nations Environment Programme, UN Avenue, PO Box 67578, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Adam P Hejnowicz
- School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Jennifer Howard
- Blue Carbon Program, Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 600, Arlington, VA, 22202, USA
| | - Sheikh Tawhidul Islam
- Institute of Remote Sensing and GIS, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, 1342, Bangladesh
| | - Hilary Kennedy
- School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Wales, LL59 5AB, UK
| | - Rahma Rashid Kivugo
- Mikoko Pamoja Community Base Organization, P.O. BOX 178-80404, Msambweni, Kenya
| | - Joseph K S Lang'at
- Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, P. O. Box 81651-80100, Mombasa, Kenya
| | - Catherine Lovelock
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Ruth Malleson
- University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood Campus, Burwood, VIC, 3125, Australia
| | - Rosalía Andrade-Medina
- CINVESTAV - Laboratorio de Producción Primaria, Recursos del Mar, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional - Unidad Mérida, Carretera Antigua a Progreso Km 6, CP 97310, Mérida, Yucatán, México
- Resiliencia Azul (NPO), Mogi das Cruzes, Mexico
| | - Ahmed Mohamed
- United Nations Environment Programme, UN Avenue, PO Box 67578, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Emily Pidgeon
- Center for Oceans, Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500, Arlington, VA, 22202, USA
| | - Jorge Ramos
- Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 6087, South Bunbury, WA, 6230, Australia
| | - Minerva Rosette
- CINVESTAV - Laboratorio de Producción Primaria, Recursos del Mar, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional - Unidad Mérida, Carretera Antigua a Progreso Km 6, CP 97310, Mérida, Yucatán, México
- Resiliencia Azul (NPO), Mogi das Cruzes, Mexico
| | - Mwanarusi Mwafrica Salim
- Vanga Blue Forest Community Based Organization, P.O Box 115-80402, Lungalunga, Kwale County, Kenya
| | - Eva Schoof
- Plan Vivo Foundation, Thorn House, 5 Rose Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2PR, UK
| | - Byomkesh Talukder
- Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Tamara Thomas
- International Ocean Policy, Global Policy and Government Relations, Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 600, Arlington, VA, 22202, USA
| | - Mathew A Vanderklift
- CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere, Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Mark Huxham
- School of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, EH11 4BN, Scotland
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21
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Malerba ME, Lindenmayer DB, Scheele BC, Waryszak P, Yilmaz IN, Schuster L, Macreadie PI. Fencing farm dams to exclude livestock halves methane emissions and improves water quality. Glob Chang Biol 2022; 28:4701-4712. [PMID: 35562855 PMCID: PMC9327511 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Revised: 05/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Agricultural practices have created tens of millions of small artificial water bodies ("farm dams" or "agricultural ponds") to provide water for domestic livestock worldwide. Among freshwater ecosystems, farm dams have some of the highest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per m2 due to fertilizer and manure run-off boosting methane production-an extremely potent GHG. However, management strategies to mitigate the substantial emissions from millions of farm dams remain unexplored. We tested the hypothesis that installing fences to exclude livestock could reduce nutrients, improve water quality, and lower aquatic GHG emissions. We established a large-scale experiment spanning 400 km across south-eastern Australia where we compared unfenced (N = 33) and fenced farm dams (N = 31) within 17 livestock farms. Fenced farm dams recorded 32% less dissolved nitrogen, 39% less dissolved phosphorus, 22% more dissolved oxygen, and produced 56% less diffusive methane emissions than unfenced dams. We found no effect of farm dam management on diffusive carbon dioxide emissions and on the organic carbon in the soil. Dissolved oxygen was the most important variable explaining changes in carbon fluxes across dams, whereby doubling dissolved oxygen from 5 to 10 mg L-1 led to a 74% decrease in methane fluxes, a 124% decrease in carbon dioxide fluxes, and a 96% decrease in CO2 -eq (CH4 + CO2 ) fluxes. Dams with very high dissolved oxygen (>10 mg L-1 ) showed a switch from positive to negative CO2 -eq. (CO2 + CH4 ) fluxes (i.e., negative radiative balance), indicating a positive contribution to reduce atmospheric warming. Our results demonstrate that simple management actions can dramatically improve water quality and decrease methane emissions while contributing to more productive and sustainable farming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martino E. Malerba
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental SciencesDeakin UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - David B. Lindenmayer
- Sustainable Farms, Fenner School of Environment and SocietyThe Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralian Capital TerritoryAustralia
| | - Ben C. Scheele
- Sustainable Farms, Fenner School of Environment and SocietyThe Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralian Capital TerritoryAustralia
| | - Pawel Waryszak
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental SciencesDeakin UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - I. Noyan Yilmaz
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental SciencesDeakin UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Lukas Schuster
- Centre of Geometric Biology, School of Biological SciencesMonash UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Peter I. Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental SciencesDeakin UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
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22
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Malerba ME, Wright N, Macreadie PI. Australian farm dams are becoming less reliable water sources under climate change. Sci Total Environ 2022; 829:154360. [PMID: 35283121 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Revised: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Worldwide food production is under ever-increasing demand. Meanwhile, climate change is disrupting rainfall and evaporation patterns, making agriculture freshwater supplies more uncertain. IPCC models predict an increased variability in rainfall and temperature over most of the globe under climate change. Yet, the effects of climate variability on water security remain poorly resolved. Here we used satellite images and deep-learning convolutional neural networks to analyse the impacts of annual averages, seasonality, climate anomaly, and temporal autocorrelation (or climate reddening) for rain and temperature on the water levels of >100,000 Australian farm dams across 55 years. We found that the risk of empty farm dams increased with warmer annual temperatures, lower yearly rainfall, stronger seasonality, reduced climate anomalies, and higher temporal autocorrelation. We used this information to develop a predictive model and estimate the likelihood of water limitations in farm dams between 1965 and 2050 using historical data and Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) at two climate change scenarios. Results showed that the frequency of empty water reserves has increased 2.5-fold since 1965 and will continue to increase across most (91%) of Australia. We estimated a 37% decline in rural areas with year-round water supplies between 1965 (457,076 km2) and 2050 (285,998 km2). Our continental-scale assessment documents complex temporal and spatial impacts of climate change on agricultural water security, with ramifications for society, economy, and the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martino E Malerba
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, VIC 3125, Australia.
| | - Nicholas Wright
- Sustainability and Biosecurity, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, 1 Nash Street, East Perth, WA 6004, Australia
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, VIC 3125, Australia
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23
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Herbert-Read JE, Thornton A, Amon DJ, Birchenough SNR, Côté IM, Dias MP, Godley BJ, Keith SA, McKinley E, Peck LS, Calado R, Defeo O, Degraer S, Johnston EL, Kaartokallio H, Macreadie PI, Metaxas A, Muthumbi AWN, Obura DO, Paterson DM, Piola AR, Richardson AJ, Schloss IR, Snelgrove PVR, Stewart BD, Thompson PM, Watson GJ, Worthington TA, Yasuhara M, Sutherland WJ. A global horizon scan of issues impacting marine and coastal biodiversity conservation. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:1262-1270. [PMID: 35798839 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01812-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The biodiversity of marine and coastal habitats is experiencing unprecedented change. While there are well-known drivers of these changes, such as overexploitation, climate change and pollution, there are also relatively unknown emerging issues that are poorly understood or recognized that have potentially positive or negative impacts on marine and coastal ecosystems. In this inaugural Marine and Coastal Horizon Scan, we brought together 30 scientists, policymakers and practitioners with transdisciplinary expertise in marine and coastal systems to identify new issues that are likely to have a significant impact on the functioning and conservation of marine and coastal biodiversity over the next 5-10 years. Based on a modified Delphi voting process, the final 15 issues presented were distilled from a list of 75 submitted by participants at the start of the process. These issues are grouped into three categories: ecosystem impacts, for example the impact of wildfires and the effect of poleward migration on equatorial biodiversity; resource exploitation, including an increase in the trade of fish swim bladders and increased exploitation of marine collagens; and new technologies, such as soft robotics and new biodegradable products. Our early identification of these issues and their potential impacts on marine and coastal biodiversity will support scientists, conservationists, resource managers and policymakers to address the challenges facing marine ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ann Thornton
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Diva J Amon
- SpeSeas, D'Abadie, Trinidad and Tobago.,Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | | | - Isabelle M Côté
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Maria P Dias
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Department of Animal Biology, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,BirdLife International, The David Attenborough Building, Cambridge, UK
| | - Brendan J Godley
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Sally A Keith
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | - Emma McKinley
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Lloyd S Peck
- British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ricardo Calado
- ECOMARE, CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Santiago University Campus, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Omar Defeo
- Laboratory of Marine Sciences (UNDECIMAR), Faculty of Sciences, University of the Republic, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Steven Degraer
- Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Operational Directorate Natural Environment, Marine Ecology and Management, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Emma L Johnston
- School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | | | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood Campus, Burwood, Victoria, Australia
| | - Anna Metaxas
- Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | | | - David O Obura
- Coastal Oceans Research and Development in the Indian Ocean, Mombasa, Kenya.,School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - David M Paterson
- Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Alberto R Piola
- Servício de Hidrografía Naval, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Instituto Franco-Argentino sobre Estudios de Clima y sus Impactos, CONICET/CNRS, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Anthony J Richardson
- School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.,Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Oceans and Atmosphere, Queensland Biosciences Precinct, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Irene R Schloss
- Instituto Antártico Argentino, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET), Ushuaia, Argentina.,Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur, Ushuaia, Argentina
| | - Paul V R Snelgrove
- Department of Ocean Sciences and Biology Department, Memorial University, St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
| | - Bryce D Stewart
- Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK
| | - Paul M Thompson
- Lighthouse Field Station, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Cromarty, UK
| | - Gordon J Watson
- Institute of Marine Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
| | - Thomas A Worthington
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
| | - Moriaki Yasuhara
- School of Biological Sciences, Area of Ecology and Biodiversity, Swire Institute of Marine Science, Institute for Climate and Carbon Neutrality, Musketeers Foundation Institute of Data Science, and State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, The University of Hong Kong, Kadoorie Biological Sciences Building, Hong Kong, China
| | - William J Sutherland
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK.,Biosecurity Research Initiative at St Catharine's (BioRISC), St Catharine's College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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24
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McLean DL, Ferreira LC, Benthuysen JA, Miller KJ, Schläppy M, Ajemian MJ, Berry O, Birchenough SNR, Bond T, Boschetti F, Bull AS, Claisse JT, Condie SA, Consoli P, Coolen JWP, Elliott M, Fortune IS, Fowler AM, Gillanders BM, Harrison HB, Hart KM, Henry L, Hewitt CL, Hicks N, Hock K, Hyder K, Love M, Macreadie PI, Miller RJ, Montevecchi WA, Nishimoto MM, Page HM, Paterson DM, Pattiaratchi CB, Pecl GT, Porter JS, Reeves DB, Riginos C, Rouse S, Russell DJF, Sherman CDH, Teilmann J, Todd VLG, Treml EA, Williamson DH, Thums M. Influence of offshore oil and gas structures on seascape ecological connectivity. Glob Chang Biol 2022; 28:3515-3536. [PMID: 35293658 PMCID: PMC9311298 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Offshore platforms, subsea pipelines, wells and related fixed structures supporting the oil and gas (O&G) industry are prevalent in oceans across the globe, with many approaching the end of their operational life and requiring decommissioning. Although structures can possess high ecological diversity and productivity, information on how they interact with broader ecological processes remains unclear. Here, we review the current state of knowledge on the role of O&G infrastructure in maintaining, altering or enhancing ecological connectivity with natural marine habitats. There is a paucity of studies on the subject with only 33 papers specifically targeting connectivity and O&G structures, although other studies provide important related information. Evidence for O&G structures facilitating vertical and horizontal seascape connectivity exists for larvae and mobile adult invertebrates, fish and megafauna; including threatened and commercially important species. The degree to which these structures represent a beneficial or detrimental net impact remains unclear, is complex and ultimately needs more research to determine the extent to which natural connectivity networks are conserved, enhanced or disrupted. We discuss the potential impacts of different decommissioning approaches on seascape connectivity and identify, through expert elicitation, critical knowledge gaps that, if addressed, may further inform decision making for the life cycle of O&G infrastructure, with relevance for other industries (e.g. renewables). The most highly ranked critical knowledge gap was a need to understand how O&G structures modify and influence the movement patterns of mobile species and dispersal stages of sessile marine species. Understanding how different decommissioning options affect species survival and movement was also highly ranked, as was understanding the extent to which O&G structures contribute to extending species distributions by providing rest stops, foraging habitat, and stepping stones. These questions could be addressed with further dedicated studies of animal movement in relation to structures using telemetry, molecular techniques and movement models. Our review and these priority questions provide a roadmap for advancing research needed to support evidence-based decision making for decommissioning O&G infrastructure.
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25
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Lovelock CE, Adame MF, Bradley J, Dittmann S, Hagger V, Hickey SM, Hutley L, Jones A, Kelleway JJ, Lavery P, Macreadie PI, Maher DT, McGinley S, McGlashan A, Perry S, Mosley L, Rogers K, Sippo JZ. An Australian blue carbon method to estimate climate change mitigation benefits of coastal wetland restoration. Restor Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.13739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Catherine E. Lovelock
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland St Lucia Queensland 4072 Australia
| | - Maria Fernanda Adame
- Australian Rivers Institute Griffith University Nathan 4111 Queensland Australia
| | - Jennifer Bradley
- Clean Energy Regulator, Australian Government 5 Farrel Place Canberra Australian Capital Territory 2600 Australia
| | - Sabine Dittmann
- College of Science & Engineering Flinders University, GPO Box 2100 Adelaide South Australia 5001 Australia
| | - Valerie Hagger
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland St Lucia Queensland 4072 Australia
| | - Sharyn M. Hickey
- The School of Agriculture and Environment, and The Oceans Institute The University of Western Australia Perth Western Australia 6009 Australia
| | - Lindsay Hutley
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University Casuarina Northern Territory 0810 Australia
| | - Alice Jones
- School of Biological Sciences and Environment Institute University of Adelaide South Australia 5000 Australia
- South Australian Department for Environment and Water Adelaide South Australia 5000 Australia
| | - Jeffrey J. Kelleway
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences and GeoQuEST Research Centre University of Wollongong Wollongong New South Wales 2522 Australia
| | - Paul Lavery
- School of Science Edith Cowan University Joondalup Western Australia 6027 Australia
| | - Peter I. Macreadie
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University 221 Burwood Highway Burwood Victoria 3125 Australia
| | - Damien T. Maher
- Faculty of Science and Engineering Southern Cross University, PO Box 157 Lismore New South Wales 2480 Australia
| | - Soraya McGinley
- Clean Energy Regulator, Australian Government 5 Farrel Place Canberra Australian Capital Territory 2600 Australia
| | - Alice McGlashan
- Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment Australian Government, John Gorton Building, King Edward Terrace Parkes Australian Capital Territory 2600 Australia
| | - Sarah Perry
- Clean Energy Regulator, Australian Government 5 Farrel Place Canberra Australian Capital Territory 2600 Australia
| | - Luke Mosley
- School of Biological Sciences and Environment Institute University of Adelaide South Australia 5000 Australia
| | - Kerrylee Rogers
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences and GeoQuEST Research Centre University of Wollongong Wollongong New South Wales 2522 Australia
| | - James Z. Sippo
- Faculty of Science and Engineering Southern Cross University, PO Box 157 Lismore New South Wales 2480 Australia
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26
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Jänes H, Macreadie PI, Rizzari J, Ierodioconou D, Reeves SE, Dwyer PG, Carnell PE. The value of estuarine producers to fisheries: A case study of Richmond River Estuary. Ambio 2022; 51:875-887. [PMID: 34625921 PMCID: PMC8847513 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-021-01600-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Nutrient input from estuarine producers underpins coastal fisheries production and knowing which producers are the most responsible for fish diet helps effectively protect and restore coastal ecosystems. Focussing on the Richmond River in Australia as a case study, we sampled the main estuarine producers and estimated their proportional contributions of nutritional input to seven commercially important fisheries species using Bayesian isotope mixing models. We valued the dietary input of estuarine producers to the commercial fisheries by combining dietary contribution estimates with total annual catch data from commercial fishers. A conservative estimate is that estuarine producers in the Richmond River Estuary contribute at least 82 725 kg (78%) of the total annual catch of the seven commercially important fish with an estimated annual value of $AU 450 117. Sea mullet and Mud crab contributed 95% of the total catch, and 93% of the total value assigned to estuarine producers. The two highest valued estuarine producers were tidal marsh (Juncus kraussii) $AU 82 432 and seagrass (Zostera capricorni) $AU 65 423. This study demonstrates the substantial role of estuarine producers to commercial fisheries production and the fisheries economy more broadly. With large areas of estuarine producers under threat globally from land clearing for agriculture, aquaculture and urbanisation, the results presented here provide evidence to support the value of coastal habitats and benefits of their preservation and restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holger Jänes
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216 Australia
- Marine Institute, University of Tartu, 51005 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Peter I. Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125 Australia
| | - Justin Rizzari
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216 Australia
| | - Daniel Ierodioconou
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Warrnambool, VIC 3280 Australia
| | | | - Patrick G. Dwyer
- Coastal Systems, DPI Fisheries, 1243 Bruxner Hwy, Wollongbar, NSW 2477 Australia
| | - Paul E. Carnell
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216 Australia
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27
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Carnell PE, Palacios MM, Waryszak P, Trevathan-Tackett SM, Masqué P, Macreadie PI. Blue carbon drawdown by restored mangrove forests improves with age. J Environ Manage 2022; 306:114301. [PMID: 35032938 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 12/05/2021] [Accepted: 12/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The restoration of blue carbon ecosystems, such as mangrove forests, is increasingly used as a management tool to mitigate climate change by removing and sequestering atmospheric carbon in the ground. However, estimates of carbon-offset potential are currently based on data from natural mangrove forests, potentially leading to overestimating the carbon-offset potential from restored mangroves. Here, in the first study of its kind, we utilise 210Pb sediment age-dating techniques and greenhouse gas flux measures to estimate blue carbon additionality in restored mangrove forests, ranging from 13 to 35 years old. As expected, mangrove age had a significant effect on carbon additionality and carbon accretion rate, with the older mangrove stands (17 and 35 years old) holding double the total carbon stocks (aboveground + soil stocks; ∼115 tonnes C ha-1) and double the soil sequestration rates (∼3 tonnes C ha-1 yr-1) than the youngest mangrove stand (13 years old). Although soil carbon stocks increased with mangrove age, the aboveground plant stocks were highest in the 17-year-old stand. Mangrove age also had a significant effect on soil carbon fluxes, with the older mangroves (≥17 years) releasing one-fourth of the CH4 emissions, but double the CO2 flux compared to young stands. Our study suggests that the carbon sink capacity of restored mangrove forests increases with age, but stabilises once they mature (e.g., >17 years). This means that by using carbon sequestration and emissions from natural forests, mangrove restoration projects may be overestimating their carbon sequestration potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul E Carnell
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Victoria, 3125, Australia.
| | - Maria M Palacios
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Victoria, 3125, Australia
| | - Paweł Waryszak
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Victoria, 3125, Australia
| | - Stacey M Trevathan-Tackett
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Victoria, 3125, Australia
| | - Pere Masqué
- International Atomic Energy Agency, 98000, Principality of Monaco, Monaco; School of Science and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, 6027, Australia; Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals & Departament de Física, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Victoria, 3125, Australia
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28
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Bonetti G, Limpert KE, Brodersen KE, Trevathan-Tackett SM, Carnell PE, Macreadie PI. The combined effect of short-term hydrological and N-fertilization manipulation of wetlands on CO 2, CH 4, and N 2O emissions. Environ Pollut 2022; 294:118637. [PMID: 34875268 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Freshwater wetlands are natural sinks of carbon; yet, wetland conversion for agricultural uses can shift these carbon sinks into large sources of greenhouse gases. We know that the anthropogenic alteration of wetland hydrology and the broad use of N-fertilizers can modify biogeochemical cycling, however, the extent of their combined effect on greenhouse gases exchange still needs further research. Moreover, there has been recent interest in wetlands rehabilitation and preservation by improving natural water flow and by seeking alternative solutions to nutrient inputs. In a microcosm setting, we experimentally exposed soils to three inundation treatments (Inundated, Moist, Drained) and a nutrient treatment by adding high nitrogen load (300 kg ha-1) to simulate physical and chemical disturbances. After, we measured the depth microprofiles of N2O and O2 concentration and CO2 and CH4 emission rates to determine how hydrological alteration and nitrogen input affect carbon and nitrogen cycling processes in inland wetland soils. Compared to the Control soils, N-fertilizer increased CO2 emissions by 40% in Drained conditions and increased CH4 emissions in Inundated soils over 90%. N2O emissions from Moist and Inundated soils enriched with nitrogen increased by 17.4 and 18-fold, respectively. Overall, the combination of physical and chemical disturbances increased the Global Warming Potential (GWP) by 7.5-fold. The first response of hydrological rehabilitation, while typically valuable for CO2 emission reduction, amplified CH4 and N2O emissions when combined with high nitrogen inputs. Therefore, this research highlights the importance of evaluating the potential interactive effects of various disturbances on biogeochemical processes when devising rehabilitation plans to rehabilitate degraded wetlands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuditta Bonetti
- Deakin University, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Burwood Campus, Victoria, 3125, Australia.
| | - Katy E Limpert
- Deakin University, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Burwood Campus, Victoria, 3125, Australia.
| | - Kasper Elgetti Brodersen
- Marine Biological Section, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 3000, Helsingør, Denmark.
| | - Stacey M Trevathan-Tackett
- Deakin University, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Burwood Campus, Victoria, 3125, Australia.
| | - Paul E Carnell
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Queenscliff Campus, Queenscliff, Victoria, 3225, Australia.
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Deakin University, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Burwood Campus, Victoria, 3125, Australia.
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29
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Adyel TM, Macreadie PI. Plastics in blue carbon ecosystems: a call for global cooperation on climate change goals. Lancet Planet Health 2022; 6:e2-e3. [PMID: 34998456 DOI: 10.1016/s2542-5196(21)00327-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Tanveer M Adyel
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia.
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
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30
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Duarte de Paula Costa M, Lovelock CE, Waltham NJ, Moritsch MM, Butler D, Power T, Thomas E, Macreadie PI. Modelling blue carbon farming opportunities at different spatial scales. J Environ Manage 2022; 301:113813. [PMID: 34607133 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
There is a growing interest in including blue carbon ecosystems (i.e., mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrasses) in climate mitigation programs in national and sub-national policies, with restoration and conservation of these ecosystems identified as potential activities to increase carbon accumulation through time. However, there is still a gap on the spatial scales needed to produce carbon offsets comparable with terrestrial or agricultural ecosystems. Here, we used the Coastal Blue Carbon InVEST 3.7.0 model to estimate future net carbon sequestration in blue carbon ecosystems along Australia's Great Barrier Reef (hereafter GBR) catchments, considering different management scenarios (i.e., reintroduction of tidal exchange through the removal of barriers, sea level rise, restoring low lying land) at three different spatial scales: whole GBR coastline, regional (14,000-16,300 ha), and local (335-370 ha) scales. The focus of the restoration (i.e., tidal marshes and/or mangroves) was dependent on data availability for each scenario. Furthermore, we also estimated the monetary value of carbon sequestration under each management scenario and spatial scale assessed in the study. We found that large scale restoration of tidal marshes could potentially sequester an additional ∼800,000 tonnes of CO2e by 2045 (potentially generating AU$12 million based on the average Australia carbon price), with greater opportunities when sea level rise is accounted for in the modelling. Also, we found that regional and local projects would generate up to 23 tonnes CO2e ha-1 by the end of the crediting period. Our results can guide future decisions in the blue carbon market and financing schemes, however, the return on investment is dependent on the carbon price and funding scheme available for project implementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Micheli Duarte de Paula Costa
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood Campus, Burwood, VIC, 3125, Australia.
| | - Catherine E Lovelock
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Nathan J Waltham
- Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia
| | - Monica M Moritsch
- University of California Santa Cruz, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060, USA; School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Warrnambool Campus, Warrnambool, VIC, 3280, Australia
| | - Don Butler
- Department of Environment and Science, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - Trent Power
- Catchment Solutions, Mackay, QLD, 4750, Australia
| | - Evan Thomas
- Department of Environment and Science, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood Campus, Burwood, VIC, 3125, Australia
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31
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Young MA, Serrano O, Macreadie PI, Lovelock CE, Carnell P, Ierodiaconou D. National scale predictions of contemporary and future blue carbon storage. Sci Total Environ 2021; 800:149573. [PMID: 34399348 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2020] [Revised: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
To help mitigate the impacts of climate change, many nature-based solutions are being explored. These solutions involve protection and restoration of ecosystems that serve as efficient carbon sinks, including vegetated coastal ecosystems (VCEs: tidal marshes, mangrove forests, and seagrass meadows) also known as 'Blue Carbon' ecosystems. In fact, many nations are seeking to manage VCEs to help meet their climate change mitigation targets through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). However, incorporation of VCEs into NDCs requires national-scale estimates of contemporary and future blue carbon storage, which has not yet been achieved. Here we address this challenge using machine learning approaches to reliably map (with 62-72% accuracy) soil carbon stocks in VCEs based on geospatial data (topography, geomorphology, climate, and anthropogenic impacts), using Australia as a case study. The resulting maps of soil carbon stocks showed that there is a total of 951 Tg (±65 Tg) of carbon stock within Australian VCEs. Strong relationships between soil carbon stocks and climatic conditions (temperature, rainfall, solar radiation) allowed us to project future changes in carbon storage across all RCP scenarios for the years 2050 and 2090 to determine changes in environmental suitability for soil carbon stocks. Results show that soil carbon stocks in mangrove/tidal marsh ecosystems are likely to predominantly experience declines in carbon stocks under predicted climate change scenarios (19% of ecosystems area is predicted to have an increase in soil carbon stocks, while 38% of ecosystems area is predicted to have a decrease in soil carbon stocks), but a majority of seagrass area is likely to have increased soil carbon stocks (56% increase, 7% decrease). This approach is effective for developing robust national blue carbon inventories and revealing the capacity for blue carbon to help meet NDCs. The resulting spatially-explicit maps can also be used to pinpoint areas for successful blue carbon projects both now and in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary A Young
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Warrnambool Campus, Geelong, VIC 3125, Australia.
| | - Oscar Serrano
- School of Science and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood Campus, Geelong, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Catherine E Lovelock
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Paul Carnell
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Queenscliff Campus, Geelong, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Daniel Ierodiaconou
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Warrnambool Campus, Geelong, VIC 3125, Australia
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32
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Adyel TM, Macreadie PI. Australia's plan to reduce plastic waste falls short. Science 2021; 374:163-164. [PMID: 34618583 DOI: 10.1126/science.abm4271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
[Figure: see text].
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanveer M Adyel
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
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33
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Waryszak P, Palacios MM, Carnell PE, Yilmaz IN, Macreadie PI. Planted mangroves cap toxic petroleum-contaminated sediments. Mar Pollut Bull 2021; 171:112746. [PMID: 34332353 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Mangroves are known to provide many ecosystem services, however there is little information on their potential role to cap and immobilise toxic levels of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH). Using an Australian case study, we investigated the capacity of planted mangroves (Avicennia marina) to immobilise TPH within a small embayment (Stony Creek, Victoria, Australia) subjected to minor oil spills throughout the 1980s. Mangroves were planted on the oil rich strata in 1984 to rehabilitate the site. Currently the area is covered with a dense mangrove forest. One-meter-long sediment cores revealed that mangroves have formed a thick (up to 30 cm) organic layer above the TPH-contaminated sediments, accumulating on average 6.6 mm of sediment per year. Mean TPH levels below this organic layer (30-50 cm) are extremely toxic (30,441.6 mg kg-1), exceeding safety thresholds up to 220-fold which is eight times higher when compared to top layer (0-10 cm).
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Affiliation(s)
- Paweł Waryszak
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia.
| | - Maria M Palacios
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
| | - Paul E Carnell
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Queenscliff Marine Science Centre, 2A Bellarine Highway, Queenscliff, Victoria 3225, Australia
| | - I Noyan Yilmaz
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
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34
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Trevathan-Tackett SM, Kepfer-Rojas S, Engelen AH, York PH, Ola A, Li J, Kelleway JJ, Jinks KI, Jackson EL, Adame MF, Pendall E, Lovelock CE, Connolly RM, Watson A, Visby I, Trethowan A, Taylor B, Roberts TNB, Petch J, Farrington L, Djukic I, Macreadie PI. Ecosystem type drives tea litter decomposition and associated prokaryotic microbiome communities in freshwater and coastal wetlands at a continental scale. Sci Total Environ 2021; 782:146819. [PMID: 33838377 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2020] [Revised: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Wetland ecosystems are critical to the regulation of the global carbon cycle, and there is a high demand for data to improve carbon sequestration and emission models and predictions. Decomposition of plant litter is an important component of ecosystem carbon cycling, yet a lack of knowledge on decay rates in wetlands is an impediment to predicting carbon preservation. Here, we aim to fill this knowledge gap by quantifying the decomposition of standardised green and rooibos tea litter over one year within freshwater and coastal wetland soils across four climates in Australia. We also captured changes in the prokaryotic members of the tea-associated microbiome during this process. Ecosystem type drove differences in tea decay rates and prokaryotic microbiome community composition. Decomposition rates were up to 2-fold higher in mangrove and seagrass soils compared to freshwater wetlands and tidal marshes, in part due to greater leaching-related mass loss. For tidal marshes and freshwater wetlands, the warmer climates had 7-16% less mass remaining compared to temperate climates after a year of decomposition. The prokaryotic microbiome community composition was significantly different between substrate types and sampling times within and across ecosystem types. Microbial indicator analyses suggested putative metabolic pathways common across ecosystems were used to breakdown the tea litter, including increased presence of putative methylotrophs and sulphur oxidisers linked to the introduction of oxygen by root in-growth over the incubation period. Structural equation modelling analyses further highlighted the importance of incubation time on tea decomposition and prokaryotic microbiome community succession, particularly for rooibos tea that experienced a greater proportion of mass loss between three and twelve months compared to green tea. These results provide insights into ecosystem-level attributes that affect both the abiotic and biotic controls of belowground wetland carbon turnover at a continental scale, while also highlighting new decay dynamics for tea litter decomposing under longer incubations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacey M Trevathan-Tackett
- Deakin University, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, 221 Burwood Hwy, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia.
| | - Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, 1958 Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Aschwin H Engelen
- Centre for Marine Sciences (CCMAR), University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
| | - Paul H York
- James Cook University, Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER), Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia
| | - Anne Ola
- The University of Queensland, School of Biological Sciences, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Jinquan Li
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Jeffrey J Kelleway
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, GeoQuEST Research Centre, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| | - Kristin I Jinks
- Coastal and Marine Research Centre, Australian Rivers Institute, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland 4222, Australia
| | - Emma L Jackson
- Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre, CQUniversity, Gladstone, QLD 4680, Australia
| | | | - Elise Pendall
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
| | - Catherine E Lovelock
- The University of Queensland, School of Biological Sciences, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Rod M Connolly
- Coastal and Marine Research Centre, Australian Rivers Institute, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland 4222, Australia
| | - Anne Watson
- School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay, TAS 7005, Australia
| | - Inger Visby
- Derwent Estuary Program, 24 Davey St Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia
| | - Allison Trethowan
- RiverConnect - Greater Shepparton City Council, Shepparton, VIC 3630, Australia
| | - Ben Taylor
- Nature Glenelg Trust, PO Box 2177, Mt Gambier, SA 5290, Australia
| | | | - Jane Petch
- Melbourne Water, South East Regional Office, Worsley Road, Bangholme, VIC 3175, Australia
| | | | - Ika Djukic
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Deakin University, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, 221 Burwood Hwy, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
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35
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Moritsch MM, Young M, Carnell P, Macreadie PI, Lovelock C, Nicholson E, Raimondi PT, Wedding LM, Ierodiaconou D. Estimating blue carbon sequestration under coastal management scenarios. Sci Total Environ 2021; 777:145962. [PMID: 33684760 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2020] [Revised: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Restoring and protecting "blue carbon" ecosystems - mangrove forests, tidal marshes, and seagrass meadows - are actions considered for increasing global carbon sequestration. To improve understanding of which management actions produce the greatest gains in sequestration, we used a spatially explicit model to compare carbon sequestration and its economic value over a broad spatial scale (2500 km of coastline in southeastern Australia) for four management scenarios: (1) Managed Retreat, (2) Managed Retreat Plus Levee Removal, (3) Erosion of High Risk Areas, (4) Erosion of Moderate to High Risk Areas. We found that carbon sequestration from avoiding erosion-related emissions (abatement) would far exceed sequestration from coastal restoration. If erosion were limited only to the areas with highest erosion risk, sequestration in the non-eroded area exceeded emissions by 4.2 million Mg CO2 by 2100. However, losing blue carbon ecosystems in both moderate and high erosion risk areas would result in net emissions of 23.0 million Mg CO2 by 2100. The removal of levees combined with managed retreat was the strategy that sequestered the most carbon. Across all time points, removal of levees increased sequestration by only an additional 1 to 3% compared to managed retreat alone. Compared to the baseline erosion scenario, the managed retreat scenario increased sequestration by 7.40 million Mg CO2 by 2030, 8.69 million Mg CO2 by 2050, and 16.6 million Mg CO2 by 2100. Associated economic value followed the same patterns, with large potential value loss from erosion greater than potential gains from conserving or restoring ecosystems. This study quantifies the potential benefits of managed retreat and preventing erosion in existing blue carbon ecosystems to help meet climate change mitigation goals by reducing carbon emissions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica M Moritsch
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Geographic Science Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA; Deakin University School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Warrnambool, VIC 3280, Australia; University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA.
| | - Mary Young
- Deakin University School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Warrnambool, VIC 3280, Australia
| | - Paul Carnell
- Deakin University School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Deakin University School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Catherine Lovelock
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Emily Nicholson
- Deakin University School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
| | | | - Lisa M Wedding
- University of Oxford, School of Geography and the Environment, Oxford, 0X1 3QY, UK
| | - Daniel Ierodiaconou
- Deakin University School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Warrnambool, VIC 3280, Australia
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Duarte de Paula Costa M, Lovelock CE, Waltham NJ, Young M, Adame MF, Bryant CV, Butler D, Green D, Rasheed MA, Salinas C, Serrano O, York PH, Whitt AA, Macreadie PI. Current and future carbon stocks in coastal wetlands within the Great Barrier Reef catchments. Glob Chang Biol 2021; 27:3257-3271. [PMID: 33864332 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Revised: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 03/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR) catchments include some of the world's most intact coastal wetlands comprising diverse mangrove, seagrass and tidal marsh ecosystems. Although these ecosystems are highly efficient at storing carbon in marine sediments, their soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and the potential changes resulting from climate impacts, including sea level rise are not well understood. For the first time, we estimated SOC stocks and their drivers within the range of coastal wetlands of GBR catchments using boosted regression trees (i.e. a machine learning approach and ensemble method for modelling the relationship between response and explanatory variables) and identified the potential changes in future stocks due to sea level rise. We found levels of SOC stocks of mangrove and seagrass meadows have different drivers, with climatic variables such as temperature, rainfall and solar radiation, showing significant contributions in accounting for variation in SOC stocks in mangroves. In contrast, soil type accounted for most of the variability in seagrass meadows. Total SOC stock in the GBR catchments, including mangroves, seagrass meadows and tidal marshes, is approximately 137 Tg C, which represents 9%-13% of Australia's total SOC stock while encompassing only 4%-6% of the total extent of Australian coastal wetlands. In a global context, this could represent 0.5%-1.4% of global SOC stock. Our study suggests that landward migration due to projected sea level rise has the potential to enhance carbon accumulation with total carbon gains between 0.16 and 0.46 Tg C and provides an opportunity for future restoration to enhance blue carbon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Micheli Duarte de Paula Costa
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Vic, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia
| | - Catherine E Lovelock
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia
| | - Nathan J Waltham
- Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Qld, Australia
| | - Mary Young
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Warrnambool, Vic, Australia
| | - Maria F Adame
- Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld, Australia
| | - Catherine V Bryant
- Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Qld, Australia
| | - Don Butler
- Department of Environment and Science, Brisbane, Qld, Australia
| | - David Green
- Research Computing Centre, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia
| | - Michael A Rasheed
- Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Qld, Australia
| | - Cristian Salinas
- School of Science & Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia
| | - Oscar Serrano
- School of Science & Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia
- Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Blanes, Spain
| | - Paul H York
- Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Qld, Australia
| | - Ashley A Whitt
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Vic, Australia
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Vic, Australia
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Cui L, Jiang Z, Huang X, Chen Q, Wu Y, Liu S, Li J, Macreadie PI. Eutrophication reduces seagrass contribution to coastal food webs. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Lijun Cui
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio‐resources and Ecology South China Sea Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou510301China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing100049China
| | - Zhijian Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio‐resources and Ecology South China Sea Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou510301China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing100049China
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory Guangzhou511458China
- Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou510301China
| | - Xiaoping Huang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio‐resources and Ecology South China Sea Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou510301China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing100049China
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory Guangzhou511458China
- Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou510301China
| | - Qiming Chen
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio‐resources and Ecology South China Sea Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou510301China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing100049China
| | - Yunchao Wu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio‐resources and Ecology South China Sea Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou510301China
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory Guangzhou511458China
- Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou510301China
| | - Songlin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio‐resources and Ecology South China Sea Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou510301China
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory Guangzhou511458China
- Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou510301China
| | - Jinlong Li
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio‐resources and Ecology South China Sea Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou510301China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing100049China
| | - Peter I. Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Geelong Victoria Australia
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Bonetti G, Trevathan-Tackett SM, Carnell PE, Macreadie PI. The potential of viruses to influence the magnitude of greenhouse gas emissions in an inland wetland. Water Res 2021; 193:116875. [PMID: 33550166 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.116875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2020] [Revised: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Wetlands are among the earth's most efficient ecosystems for carbon sequestration, but can also emit potent greenhouse gases (GHGs) depending on how they are managed. Global management strategies have sought to maximize carbon drawdown by wetlands by manipulating wetland hydrology to inhibit bacterially-mediated emissions. However, it has recently been hypothesized within wetlands that viruses have the potential to dictate the magnitude and direction of GHG emissions by attacking prokaryotes involved in the carbon cycle. Here we tested this hypothesis in a whole-ecosystem manipulation by hydrologically-restoring a degraded wetland ('rewetting') and investigated the changes in GHG emissions, prokaryotes, viruses, and virus-host interactions. We found that hydrological restoration significantly increased prokaryotic diversity, methanogenic Methanomicrobia, as well as putative iron/sulfate-cyclers (Geobacteraceae), nitrogen-cyclers (Nitrosomonadaceae), and fermentative bacteria (Koribacteraceae). These results provide insights into successional microbial community shifts during rehabilitation. Additionally, in response to watering, viral-induced prokaryotic mortality declined by 77%, resulting in limited carbon released by viral shunt that was significantly correlated with the 2.8-fold reduction in wetland carbon emissions. Our findings highlight, for the first time, the potential implications of viral infections in soil prokaryotes on wetland greenhouse gas dynamics and confirm the importance of wetland rehabilitation as a tool to offset carbon emissions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuditta Bonetti
- Deakin University, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Burwood Campus, Victoria 3125, Australia..
| | - Stacey M Trevathan-Tackett
- Deakin University, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Burwood Campus, Victoria 3125, Australia..
| | - Paul E Carnell
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Queenscliff Campus, Queenscliff, VIC 3225, Australia.
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Deakin University, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Burwood Campus, Victoria 3125, Australia..
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39
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Palacios MM, Trevathan-Tackett SM, Malerba ME, Macreadie PI. Effects of a nutrient enrichment pulse on blue carbon ecosystems. Mar Pollut Bull 2021; 165:112024. [PMID: 33549995 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Revised: 01/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Coastal ecosystems are under increasing pressure from land-derived eutrophication in most developed coastlines worldwide. Here, we tested for 277 days the effects of a nutrient pulse on blue carbon retention and cycling within an Australian temperate coastal system. After 56 days of exposure, saltmarsh and mangrove plots subject to a high-nutrient treatment (~20 g N m-2 yr-1 and ~2 g P m-2 yr-1) had ~23% lower superficial soil carbon stocks. Mangrove plots also experienced a ~33% reduction in the microbe Amplicon Sequence Variant richness and a shift in community structure linked to elevated ammonium concentrations. Live plant cover, tea litter decomposition, and soil carbon fluxes (CO2 and CH4) were not significantly affected by the pulse. Before the end of the experiment, soil carbon- and nitrogen-cycling had returned to control levels, highlighting the significant but short-lived impact that a nutrient pulse can have on the carbon sink capacity of coastal wetlands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria M Palacios
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Hwy, VIC 3125, Australia.
| | - Stacey M Trevathan-Tackett
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Hwy, VIC 3125, Australia.
| | - Martino E Malerba
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Hwy, VIC 3125, Australia.
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Hwy, VIC 3125, Australia.
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Liu S, Trevathan-Tackett SM, Ewers Lewis CJ, Huang X, Macreadie PI. Macroalgal Blooms Trigger the Breakdown of Seagrass Blue Carbon. Environ Sci Technol 2020; 54:14750-14760. [PMID: 33103882 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c03720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Intensive macroalgal blooms, a source of labile organic carbon (LOC) induced by coastal nutrient loading in some seagrass ecosystems, create ideal conditions for enhanced recalcitrant organic carbon (ROC) loss via the cometabolism effect. Here, we carried out a 62-day laboratory experiment to see if density-dependent addition of macroalgal biomass can influence the seagrass decomposition process, including seagrass detritus carbon chemistry, greenhouse emissions, and bacterial communities. We found that higher density macroalgal addition stimulated microbes to decompose ∼20% more of the seagrass biomass compared to other treatments, which was also reflected in enhanced (∼twofold) greenhouse gas emissions. Although the composition of the seagrass-associated microbiome communities was unaffected by the addition of macroalgae, we showed that high macroalgal addition caused a relative depletion in the ROC as lignin and lipid compounds, as well as δ13C depletion and δ15N enrichment of the seagrass detritus. These results suggest that macroalgal blooms may stimulate the remineralization of recalcitrant components of seagrass detritus via cometabolism, possibly through providing available energy or resources for the synthesis of ROC-degrading enzymes within the resident microbial population. This study provides evidence that cometabolism can be a mechanism for leading to reduced seagrass blue carbon sequestration and preservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Songlin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
- Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
| | - Stacey M Trevathan-Tackett
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
| | - Carolyn J Ewers Lewis
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22911, United States
| | - Xiaoping Huang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
- Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
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Liu S, Deng Y, Jiang Z, Wu Y, Huang X, Macreadie PI. Nutrient loading diminishes the dissolved organic carbon drawdown capacity of seagrass ecosystems. Sci Total Environ 2020; 740:140185. [PMID: 32563887 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Revised: 05/18/2020] [Accepted: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Seawater dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in seagrass meadows is gaining attention for its role in carbon sequestration. Abundant refractory compounds in DOC are exported by seagrass meadows to the deep sea, thereby contributing to long-term carbon drawdown. DOC lability and bacterioplankton communities are key determining factors in this carbon sequestration process, and it has been hypothesized that these may be affected by nutrient loading - however, scientific evidence is so far weak. Here, we studied the response of DOC composition and bacterioplankton communities to nutrient loading in seagrass meadows of the South China Sea. We found that increasing nutrient loads enhanced nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in DOC, which promoted algae blooms (i.e. epiphyte, phytoplankton and macroalgae) in seagrass meadows, and presumably increased the lability of DOC and its bioavailability to microbes. Also, the relative abundance of K-strategist bacterioplankton communities with the potential to degrade refractory compounds (Acidimicrobiia, Verrucomicrobiales and Micrococcales) increased in the seagrass meadows exposed to high nutrient loads. These results suggest that high nutrient loading can enhance labile DOC composition, and thus increase refractory DOC remineralization rate, thereby weakening the DOC contribution potential of seagrass meadows to long-term carbon sequestration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Songlin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China; Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Yiqin Deng
- Key Laboratory of South China Sea Fishery Resources Exploitation & Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou, 510300, China
| | - Zhijian Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China; Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Yunchao Wu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China; Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Xiaoping Huang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China; Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China.
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
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Huang B, Young MA, Carnell PE, Conron S, Ierodiaconou D, Macreadie PI, Nicholson E. Quantifying welfare gains of coastal and estuarine ecosystem rehabilitation for recreational fisheries. Sci Total Environ 2020; 710:134680. [PMID: 31927279 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2019] [Revised: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 09/25/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Coastal and estuarine ecosystems, such as mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrass meadows, provide a range of ecosystem services, but have seen extensive degradation and decline. Effective protection and rehabilitation of coastal ecosystems requires an understanding of how efforts may improve associated ecosystem services. In this study, we present a spatially-explicit angler catch function to predict boat-based recreational catch as a function of ecosystem and angler characteristics. We developed a choice model to investigate where recreational anglers launch their boats and fish in southeast Australia. By linking the recreational catch models with a choice model, we were able to quantify welfare gains of ecosystem rehabilitation. We found welfare gains across fishing locations varied widely due to heterogeneous coverage of seagrass. The welfare gains of different fishing locations ranged from near-zero in areas of low seagrass coverage, to AU $19.18 (10% increase in seagrass area) and to AU $85.55 (30% increase) per trip in location of high seagrass coverage. Given two million fishing trips occurring per year in Port Phillip Bay, and one million in Western Port, the aggregated welfare gain could scale up to AU $6.2 million with a 10% increase in seagrass coverage, and AU $22 million per annum with a 30% increase in seagrass. We also calculated the welfare loss associated with total loss of seagrass ecosystem in each fishing location to represent the current value, which varied significantly, ranging from near-zero in some locations to AU $87.47 per trip in other locations. Over the past several decades, the bay-wide seagrass ecosystem has dropped by 36.7% in Western Port, resulting in potential welfare loss of an estimated AU $ 86.7 million per annum. Our analyses provide insightful spatial policy implications for coastal and marine ecosystem rehabilitation in the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biao Huang
- School of Life and Environmental Science, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia.
| | - Mary A Young
- School of Life and Environmental Science, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Warrnambool Campus, Pinces Highway, Warrnambool, VIC 3280, Australia
| | - Paul E Carnell
- School of Life and Environmental Science, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Simon Conron
- Victorian Fisheries Authority, 2A Bellarine Hwy Queenscliff, Victoria 23240
| | - Daniel Ierodiaconou
- School of Life and Environmental Science, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Warrnambool Campus, Pinces Highway, Warrnambool, VIC 3280, Australia
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- School of Life and Environmental Science, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Emily Nicholson
- School of Life and Environmental Science, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
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Trevathan-Tackett SM, Jeffries TC, Macreadie PI, Manojlovic B, Ralph P. Long-term decomposition captures key steps in microbial breakdown of seagrass litter. Sci Total Environ 2020; 705:135806. [PMID: 31838420 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Revised: 11/25/2019] [Accepted: 11/26/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Seagrass biomass represents an important source of organic carbon that can contribute to long-term sediment carbon stocks in coastal ecosystems. There is little empirical data on the long-term microbial decomposition of seagrass detritus, despite this process being one of the key drivers of carbon-cycling in coastal ecosystems, that is, it influences the amount and quality of carbon available for sequestration. Here, our goal was to investigate how litter quality (leaf vs. rhizome/root) and the microbial communities involved in organic matter remineralisation shift over a 2-year field decomposition study north of Sydney, Australia using the temperate seagrass Zostera muelleri. The sites varied in bulk sediment characteristics and the sediment-associated microbial communities, but these variables overall had little influence on long-term seagrass decomposition rates or seagrass-associated microbiomes. The results showed a clear succession of bacterial and archaeal communities for both tissues types from r-strategists such as α- and γ-proteobacteria to K-strategies, including δ-proteobacteria, Bacteroidia and Spirochaetes. We used a new mathematical model to capture how decay rates varied over time and found that two decomposition events occurred for some seagrass leaf samples, possibly due to exudate input from living seagrass roots growing into the litter bag. The new model also indicated that conventional single exponential models overestimate long-term decay rates, and we detected for the first time the refractory, or stable, phase of decomposition for rhizome/root biomass. The stable phase began at approximately 20% mass remaining and after 600 days, and the persistence of rhizome/root biomass was attributed to the anoxic conditions and the preservation of refractory organic matter. While we predict that rhizome/root biomass will contribute more to the long-term sediment carbon stocks, the preservation of leaf carbon may be enhanced at locations were sedimentation is high and burial in anoxic conditions is rapid and constant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacey M Trevathan-Tackett
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia; Deakin University, Geelong, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Burwood Campus, VIC 3125, Australia.
| | - Thomas C Jeffries
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia; School of Science and Health, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia; Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia; Deakin University, Geelong, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Burwood Campus, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Bojana Manojlovic
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - Peter Ralph
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
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Treby S, Carnell PE, Trevathan-Tackett SM, Bonetti G, Macreadie PI. Assessing passive rehabilitation for carbon gains in rain-filled agricultural wetlands. J Environ Manage 2020; 256:109971. [PMID: 31989987 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2019] [Revised: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 12/06/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Wetland ecosystems have a disproportionally large influence on the global carbon cycle. They can act as carbon sinks or sources depending upon their location, type, and condition. Rehabilitation of wetlands is gaining popularity as a nature-based approach to helping mitigate climate change; however, few studies have empirically tested the carbon benefits of wetland restoration, especially in freshwater environments. Here we investigated the effects of passive rehabilitation (i.e. fencing and agricultural release) of 16 semi-arid rain-filled freshwater wetlands in southeastern Australia. Eight control sites were compared with older (>10 year) or newer (2-5 year) rehabilitated sites, dominated by graminoids or eucalypts. Carbon stocks (soils and plant biomass), and emissions (carbon dioxide - CO2; and methane - CH4) were sampled across three seasons, representing natural filling and drawdown, and soil microbial communities were sampled in spring. We found no significant difference in soil carbon or greenhouse gas emissions between rehabilitated and control sites, however, plant biomass was significantly higher in older rehabilitated sites. Wetland carbon stocks were 19.21 t Corg ha-1 and 2.84 t Corg ha-1 for soils (top 20 cm; n = 137) and plant biomass (n = 288), respectively. Hydrology was a strong driver of wetland greenhouse gas emissions. Diffusive fluxes (n = 356) averaged 117.63 mmol CO2 m2 d-1 and 2.98 mmol CH4 m2 d-1 when wet, and 124.01 mmol CO2 m2 d-1 and -0.41 mmol CH4 m2 d-1 when dry. Soil microbial community richness was nearly 2-fold higher during the wet phase than the dry phase, including relative increases in Nitrososphaerales, Myxococcales and Koribacteraceae and methanogens Methanobacteriales. Vegetation type significantly influenced soil carbon, aboveground carbon, and greenhouse gas emissions. Overall, our results suggest that passive rehabilitation of rain-filled wetlands, while valuable for biodiversity and habitat provisioning, is ineffective for increasing carbon gains within 20 years. Carbon offsetting opportunities may be better in systems with faster sediment accretion. Active rehabilitation methods, particularly that reinstate the natural hydrology of drained wetlands, should also be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Treby
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia.
| | - Paul E Carnell
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Stacey M Trevathan-Tackett
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Giuditta Bonetti
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
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45
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul H York
- Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
| | - Michael A Rasheed
- Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia
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46
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Zhao C, Liu S, Jiang Z, Wu Y, Cui L, Huang X, Macreadie PI. Nitrogen purification potential limited by nitrite reduction process in coastal eutrophic wetlands. Sci Total Environ 2019; 694:133702. [PMID: 31386948 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Revised: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 07/30/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Coastal wetlands accumulate enormous quantities of nitrogen due to their position at the interface between land and sea and high trapping capacity. Fortunately, they have high nitrogen (N) purifying (removal) capacity, which means that they likely play an important role in mitigating against coastal eutrophication. However studies that empirically measure the degree to which wetlands purify nitrogen and their removal pathways (e.g. denitrification, anammox, plant uptake, microbial immobilization, etc.) are rare. In this study, the N purification potential (denitrification and anammox) and enzyme activities related to denitrification in different subtropical wetlands types were conducted in nitrogen-enriched wetlands of Daya Bay, Southern China. We found the average N purification rate was 11.4 μmol N·kg-1·h-1, with denitrification accounting for 84.2%-100% of the total N2 production in the wetlands of Daya Bay. The N purification potential in the wet season, subtidal areas and mangrove forests were generally observed to be higher than that in the dry season, high and low tidal areas, barren and estuary habitats, respectively. Correspondingly, these differences were mainly driven by the temperature, Eh and NH4-N, respectively. Additionally, the nitrate reductase (Nar) and nitrite reductase (Nir) activities tended to be similar among different seasons and tidal areas, however, Nir activity in mangrove forest was 1.5-fold and 2-fold of the estuarine and barren areas, respectively. Meanwhile, Nir showed a positive correlation with denitrification rate. These results indicate that NO2-N reduction, the key control mechanism for N purification, should be the rate-limiting step of the denitrification process in Daya Bay wetlands. Notably, mangroves could improve N removal rates by 48.0% compared to other wetlands. Therefore, protecting and restoring mangrove ecosystems could be an effective way to reduce the risk of coastal eutrophication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunyu Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Songlin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China.
| | - Zhijian Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Yunchao Wu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
| | - Lijun Cui
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xiaoping Huang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
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47
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Ollivier QR, Maher DT, Pitfield C, Macreadie PI. Winter emissions ofCO2,CH4, and N2O from temperate agricultural dams: fluxes, sources, and processes. Ecosphere 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Quinn R. Ollivier
- Centre for Integrative Ecology School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Geelong Victoria Australia
| | - Damien T. Maher
- Southern Cross Geoscience Southern Cross University Lismore New South Wales 2480 Australia
| | - Chris Pitfield
- Corangamite Catchment Management Authority Colac Victoria 3250 Australia
| | - Peter I. Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Geelong Victoria Australia
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48
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Macreadie PI, Atwood TB, Seymour JR, Fontes MLS, Sanderman J, Nielsen DA, Connolly RM. Vulnerability of seagrass blue carbon to microbial attack following exposure to warming and oxygen. Sci Total Environ 2019; 686:264-275. [PMID: 31181514 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2019] [Revised: 05/30/2019] [Accepted: 05/30/2019] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Seagrass meadows store globally-significant quantities of organic 'blue' carbon. These blue carbon stocks are potentially vulnerable to anthropogenic stressors (e.g. coastal development, climate change). Here, we tested the impact of oxygen exposure and warming (major consequences of human disturbance) on rates of microbial carbon break-down in seagrass sediments. Active microbes occurred throughout seagrass sediment profiles, but deep, ancient sediments (~5000 yrs. old) contained only 3% of the abundance of active microbes as young, surface sediments (<2 yrs. old). Metagenomic analysis revealed that microbial community structure and function changed with depth, with a shift from proteobacteria and high levels of genes involved in sulfur cycling in the near surface samples, to a higher proportion of firmicutes and euraracheota and genes involved in methanogenesis at depth. Ancient carbon consisted almost entirely (97%) of carbon considered 'thermally recalcitrant', and therefore presumably inaccessible to microbial attack. Experimental warming had little impact on carbon; however, exposure of ancient sediments to oxygen increased microbial abundance, carbon uptake and sediment carbon turnover (34-38 fold). Overall, this study provides detailed characterization of seagrass blue carbon (chemical stability, age, associated microbes) and suggests that environmental disturbances that expose coastal sediments to oxygen (e.g. dredging) have the capacity to diminish seagrass sediment carbon stocks by facilitating microbial remineralisation.
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Affiliation(s)
- P I Macreadie
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Victoria 3216, Australia; Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
| | - T B Atwood
- Department of Watershed Sciences and The Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA
| | - J R Seymour
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - M L Schmitz Fontes
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - J Sanderman
- Woods Hole Research Center, 149 Woods Hole Road, Falmouth, MA 02540, USA; CSIRO Agriculture, Waite Campus, Waite Rd, Urrbrae, SA 5064, Australia
| | - D A Nielsen
- School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - R M Connolly
- Australian Rivers Institute - Coast & Estuaries, School of Environment and Science, Gold Coast campus, Griffith University, Queensland 4222, Australia
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49
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Serrano O, Lovelock CE, B Atwood T, Macreadie PI, Canto R, Phinn S, Arias-Ortiz A, Bai L, Baldock J, Bedulli C, Carnell P, Connolly RM, Donaldson P, Esteban A, Ewers Lewis CJ, Eyre BD, Hayes MA, Horwitz P, Hutley LB, Kavazos CRJ, Kelleway JJ, Kendrick GA, Kilminster K, Lafratta A, Lee S, Lavery PS, Maher DT, Marbà N, Masque P, Mateo MA, Mount R, Ralph PJ, Roelfsema C, Rozaimi M, Ruhon R, Salinas C, Samper-Villarreal J, Sanderman J, J Sanders C, Santos I, Sharples C, Steven ADL, Cannard T, Trevathan-Tackett SM, Duarte CM. Australian vegetated coastal ecosystems as global hotspots for climate change mitigation. Nat Commun 2019; 10:4313. [PMID: 31575872 PMCID: PMC6773740 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12176-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2019] [Accepted: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Policies aiming to preserve vegetated coastal ecosystems (VCE; tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrasses) to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions require national assessments of blue carbon resources. Here, we present organic carbon (C) storage in VCE across Australian climate regions and estimate potential annual CO2 emission benefits of VCE conservation and restoration. Australia contributes 5–11% of the C stored in VCE globally (70–185 Tg C in aboveground biomass, and 1,055–1,540 Tg C in the upper 1 m of soils). Potential CO2 emissions from current VCE losses are estimated at 2.1–3.1 Tg CO2-e yr-1, increasing annual CO2 emissions from land use change in Australia by 12–21%. This assessment, the most comprehensive for any nation to-date, demonstrates the potential of conservation and restoration of VCE to underpin national policy development for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Policies aiming to preserve vegetated coastal ecosystems (VCE) to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions require national assessments of blue carbon resources. Here the authors assessed organic carbon storage in VCE across Australian and the potential annual CO2 emission benefits of VCE conservation and find that Australia contributes substantially the carbon stored in VCE globally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oscar Serrano
- School of Science and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia.
| | - Catherine E Lovelock
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.,The Global Change Institute, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Trisha B Atwood
- The Global Change Institute, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.,Department of Watershed Sciences and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 84322, USA
| | - Peter I Macreadie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Burwood Campus, Geelong, VIC, 3125, Australia
| | - Robert Canto
- The Global Change Institute, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.,Remote Sensing Research Centre/Joint Remote Sensing Research Program, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Queensland, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Stuart Phinn
- The Global Change Institute, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.,Remote Sensing Research Centre/Joint Remote Sensing Research Program, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Queensland, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Ariane Arias-Ortiz
- Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals and Departament de Física, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Le Bai
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, NT, 0810, Australia
| | - Jeff Baldock
- CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Locked Bag 2, Glen Osmond, SA, 5064, Australia
| | - Camila Bedulli
- UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.,Instituto de Biociências de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, 18618-970, Brazil
| | - Paul Carnell
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Burwood Campus, Geelong, VIC, 3125, Australia
| | - Rod M Connolly
- Australian Rivers Institute-Coast and Estuaries, School of Environment andScience, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, 4222, Australia
| | | | - Alba Esteban
- School of Science and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia
| | - Carolyn J Ewers Lewis
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Burwood Campus, Geelong, VIC, 3125, Australia
| | - Bradley D Eyre
- Centre for Coastal Biogeochemistry, School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia
| | - Matthew A Hayes
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.,The Global Change Institute, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.,Australian Rivers Institute-Coast and Estuaries, School of Environment andScience, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, 4222, Australia
| | - Pierre Horwitz
- School of Science and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia
| | - Lindsay B Hutley
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, NT, 0810, Australia
| | - Christopher R J Kavazos
- School of Science and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia.,School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Jeffrey J Kelleway
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia
| | - Gary A Kendrick
- UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.,School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Kieryn Kilminster
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.,Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, Locked Bag 10, Joondalup DC, WA, 6027, Australia
| | - Anna Lafratta
- School of Science and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia
| | - Shing Lee
- Australian Rivers Institute-Coast and Estuaries, School of Environment andScience, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, 4222, Australia.,Simon FS Li Marine Science Laboratory, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
| | - Paul S Lavery
- School of Science and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia.,Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes-CSIC, 17300, Blanes, Spain
| | - Damien T Maher
- Centre for Coastal Biogeochemistry, School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia
| | - Núria Marbà
- Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Miquel Marquès 21, 07190, Esporles, Spain
| | - Pere Masque
- School of Science and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia.,Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals and Departament de Física, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain.,UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.,School of Physics, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Miguel A Mateo
- School of Science and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia.,Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes-CSIC, 17300, Blanes, Spain
| | - Richard Mount
- Discipline of Geography and Spatial Sciences, School of Technology, Environments and Design, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia
| | - Peter J Ralph
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Chris Roelfsema
- Remote Sensing Research Centre/Joint Remote Sensing Research Program, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Queensland, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Mohammad Rozaimi
- School of Science and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia.,Centre for Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Radhiyah Ruhon
- UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.,Faculty of Marine Science and Fisheries, Hasanuddin University, Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan Km.10, Tamalanrea, Makassar, 90245, Indonesia
| | - Cristian Salinas
- School of Science and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia.,Marine and Coastal Research Institute "José Benito Vives De Andréis" INVEMAR, Calle 25 No. 2-55, Santa Marta, Colombia
| | - Jimena Samper-Villarreal
- The Global Change Institute, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.,Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (CIMAR), Ciudad de la Investigación, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José, 11501-2060, Costa Rica.,Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Jonathan Sanderman
- CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Locked Bag 2, Glen Osmond, SA, 5064, Australia.,Woods Hole Research Center, Falmouth, MA, 02540, USA
| | - Christian J Sanders
- National Marine Science Centre, Southern Cross University, PO Box 4321, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia
| | - Isaac Santos
- National Marine Science Centre, Southern Cross University, PO Box 4321, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia
| | - Chris Sharples
- Discipline of Geography and Spatial Sciences, School of Technology, Environments and Design, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia
| | - Andrew D L Steven
- CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Queensland Biosciences Precinct, 306 Carmody Rd, St. Lucia, QLD, 4067, Australia
| | - Toni Cannard
- CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Queensland Biosciences Precinct, 306 Carmody Rd, St. Lucia, QLD, 4067, Australia
| | - Stacey M Trevathan-Tackett
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Burwood Campus, Geelong, VIC, 3125, Australia
| | - Carlos M Duarte
- UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.,Red Sea Research Center (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
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50
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Macreadie PI, Anton A, Raven JA, Beaumont N, Connolly RM, Friess DA, Kelleway JJ, Kennedy H, Kuwae T, Lavery PS, Lovelock CE, Smale DA, Apostolaki ET, Atwood TB, Baldock J, Bianchi TS, Chmura GL, Eyre BD, Fourqurean JW, Hall-Spencer JM, Huxham M, Hendriks IE, Krause-Jensen D, Laffoley D, Luisetti T, Marbà N, Masque P, McGlathery KJ, Megonigal JP, Murdiyarso D, Russell BD, Santos R, Serrano O, Silliman BR, Watanabe K, Duarte CM. The future of Blue Carbon science. Nat Commun 2019; 10:3998. [PMID: 31488846 PMCID: PMC6728345 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11693-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 146] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2018] [Accepted: 07/31/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The term Blue Carbon (BC) was first coined a decade ago to describe the disproportionately large contribution of coastal vegetated ecosystems to global carbon sequestration. The role of BC in climate change mitigation and adaptation has now reached international prominence. To help prioritise future research, we assembled leading experts in the field to agree upon the top-ten pending questions in BC science. Understanding how climate change affects carbon accumulation in mature BC ecosystems and during their restoration was a high priority. Controversial questions included the role of carbonate and macroalgae in BC cycling, and the degree to which greenhouse gases are released following disturbance of BC ecosystems. Scientists seek improved precision of the extent of BC ecosystems; techniques to determine BC provenance; understanding of the factors that influence sequestration in BC ecosystems, with the corresponding value of BC; and the management actions that are effective in enhancing this value. Overall this overview provides a comprehensive road map for the coming decades on future research in BC science. The role of Blue Carbon in climate change mitigation and adaptation has now reached international prominence. Here the authors identified the top-ten unresolved questions in the field and find that most questions relate to the precise role blue carbon can play in mitigating climate change and the most effective management actions in maximising this.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter I Macreadie
- Deakin University, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Center for Integrative Ecology, Geelong, VIC, 3125, Australia.
| | - Andrea Anton
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Red Sea Research Center and Computational Bioscience Research Center, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - John A Raven
- Division of Plant Sciences, University of Dundee at the James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee, DD2 5DQ, UK.,Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, 2007, Australia.,School of Biological Science, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Nicola Beaumont
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, Plymouth, PL1 3DH, UK
| | - Rod M Connolly
- Australian Rivers Institute-Coast & Estuaries, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, 4222, Australia
| | - Daniel A Friess
- Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, 1 Arts Link, Singapore, 117570, Singapore
| | - Jeffrey J Kelleway
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia
| | - Hilary Kennedy
- School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai bridge, Bangor, LL59 5AB, UK
| | - Tomohiro Kuwae
- Coastal and Estuarine Environment Research Group, Port and Airport Research Institute, 3-1-1 Nagase, Yokosuka, 239-0826, Japan
| | - Paul S Lavery
- School of Science, Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia
| | - Catherine E Lovelock
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Dan A Smale
- Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, PL1 2PB, UK
| | - Eugenia T Apostolaki
- Institute of Oceanography, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, PO Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Trisha B Atwood
- Department of Watershed Sciences and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 84322-5210, USA
| | - Jeff Baldock
- CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Private Mail Bag, Glen Osmond, SA, 5064, Australia
| | - Thomas S Bianchi
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611-2120, USA
| | - Gail L Chmura
- Department of Geography, McGill University, 805 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, QC, H3A 0B9, Canada
| | - Bradley D Eyre
- Centre for Coastal Biogeochemistry, School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia
| | - James W Fourqurean
- School of Biological Science, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.,Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Coastal Oceans Research, Florida International University, 11200 SW8th St, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
| | - Jason M Hall-Spencer
- School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK.,Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Mark Huxham
- School of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, EH11 4BN, UK
| | - Iris E Hendriks
- Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Miquel Marquès 21, Esporles, 07190, Spain
| | - Dorte Krause-Jensen
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Vejlsøvej 25, Silkeborg, 8600, Denmark.,Arctic Research Centre, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, bldg. 1540, Århus C, 8000, Denmark
| | - Dan Laffoley
- World Commission on Protected Areas, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland
| | - Tiziana Luisetti
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, UK
| | - Núria Marbà
- Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Miquel Marquès 21, Esporles, 07190, Spain
| | - Pere Masque
- School of Science, Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia.,The Oceans Institute and Department of Physics, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, Australia.,Departament de Física & Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193, Spain
| | - Karen J McGlathery
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlotttesville, VA, 22903, USA
| | - J Patrick Megonigal
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Road, Edgewater, MD, 21037, USA
| | - Daniel Murdiyarso
- Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Jl. CIFOR, Situgede, Bogor, 16115, Indonesia.,Department of Geophysics and Meteorology, Bogor Agricultural University, Kampus Darmaga, Bogor, 16680, Indonesia
| | - Bayden D Russell
- Swire Institute of Marine Science, School of Biological Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Rui Santos
- Center of Marine Sciences, CCMAR, University of Algarve, Faro, 8005-139, Portugal
| | - Oscar Serrano
- School of Science, Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia
| | - Brian R Silliman
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, NC, 28516, USA
| | - Kenta Watanabe
- Coastal and Estuarine Environment Research Group, Port and Airport Research Institute, 3-1-1 Nagase, Yokosuka, 239-0826, Japan
| | - Carlos M Duarte
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Red Sea Research Center and Computational Bioscience Research Center, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
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