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Structural complexity and benthic metabolism : resolving the links between carbon cycling and biodiversity in restored seagrass meadows

Kindeberg, Theodor LU orcid ; Attard, Karl Michael ; Hüller, Jana LU ; Müller, Julia ; Quintana, Cintia Organo and Infantes, Eduardo (2024) In Biogeosciences 21(7). p.1685-1705
Abstract

Due to large losses of seagrass meadows worldwide, restoration is proposed as a key strategy for increasing coastal resilience and recovery. The emergence of a seagrass meadow is expected to substantially amplify biodiversity and enhance benthic metabolism by increasing primary productivity and respiration. Nevertheless, open questions remain regarding the metabolic balance of aging seagrass meadows and the roles benthic communities within the seagrass ecosystem play in overall metabolism. To address these questions, we investigated a chronosequence of bare sediments and adjacent Zostera marina meadows of 3 and 7 years since restoration alongside a natural meadow located within a high-temperate marine embayment in Gåsö, Sweden. We... (More)

Due to large losses of seagrass meadows worldwide, restoration is proposed as a key strategy for increasing coastal resilience and recovery. The emergence of a seagrass meadow is expected to substantially amplify biodiversity and enhance benthic metabolism by increasing primary productivity and respiration. Nevertheless, open questions remain regarding the metabolic balance of aging seagrass meadows and the roles benthic communities within the seagrass ecosystem play in overall metabolism. To address these questions, we investigated a chronosequence of bare sediments and adjacent Zostera marina meadows of 3 and 7 years since restoration alongside a natural meadow located within a high-temperate marine embayment in Gåsö, Sweden. We combined continuous measurements of O2 fluxes using underwater eddy covariance with dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and O2 fluxes from benthic chambers during the productive season (July). Based on the ratio between O2 and DIC, we derived site-specific photosynthetic and respiratory quotients, enabling the conversion of eddy covariance fluxes to DIC. We assessed benthic diversity parameters as potential drivers of metabolic flux variability. We observed high rates of gross primary productivity (GPP) spanning −18 to −82 mmol DIC m−2 d−1, which increased progressively with meadow age. Community respiration (CR) mirrored the GPP trend, and all meadows were net heterotrophic (GPP < CR), with net community productivity (NCP) ranging from 16 to 28 mmol DIC m−2 d−1. While autotrophic biomass did not increase with meadow age, macrophyte diversity did, elucidating potential effects of niche complementarity among macrophytes on community metabolism. These findings provide valuable insights into how community composition and meadow development relate to ecosystem functioning, highlighting potential tradeoffs between carbon uptake and biodiversity.

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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Biogeosciences
volume
21
issue
7
pages
21 pages
publisher
Copernicus GmbH
external identifiers
  • scopus:85190162926
ISSN
1726-4170
DOI
10.5194/bg-21-1685-2024
project
Coastal adaptation to climate change by multiple ecosystem-based measures
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0ecc1b17-f6bc-45d6-9a95-28de36b9c9af
date added to LUP
2024-04-23 13:11:08
date last changed
2024-05-21 16:33:35
@article{0ecc1b17-f6bc-45d6-9a95-28de36b9c9af,
  abstract     = {{<p>Due to large losses of seagrass meadows worldwide, restoration is proposed as a key strategy for increasing coastal resilience and recovery. The emergence of a seagrass meadow is expected to substantially amplify biodiversity and enhance benthic metabolism by increasing primary productivity and respiration. Nevertheless, open questions remain regarding the metabolic balance of aging seagrass meadows and the roles benthic communities within the seagrass ecosystem play in overall metabolism. To address these questions, we investigated a chronosequence of bare sediments and adjacent Zostera marina meadows of 3 and 7 years since restoration alongside a natural meadow located within a high-temperate marine embayment in Gåsö, Sweden. We combined continuous measurements of O<sub>2</sub> fluxes using underwater eddy covariance with dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and O<sub>2</sub> fluxes from benthic chambers during the productive season (July). Based on the ratio between O<sub>2</sub> and DIC, we derived site-specific photosynthetic and respiratory quotients, enabling the conversion of eddy covariance fluxes to DIC. We assessed benthic diversity parameters as potential drivers of metabolic flux variability. We observed high rates of gross primary productivity (GPP) spanning −18 to −82 mmol DIC m<sup>−2</sup> d<sup>−1</sup>, which increased progressively with meadow age. Community respiration (CR) mirrored the GPP trend, and all meadows were net heterotrophic (GPP &lt; CR), with net community productivity (NCP) ranging from 16 to 28 mmol DIC m<sup>−2</sup> d<sup>−1</sup>. While autotrophic biomass did not increase with meadow age, macrophyte diversity did, elucidating potential effects of niche complementarity among macrophytes on community metabolism. These findings provide valuable insights into how community composition and meadow development relate to ecosystem functioning, highlighting potential tradeoffs between carbon uptake and biodiversity.</p>}},
  author       = {{Kindeberg, Theodor and Attard, Karl Michael and Hüller, Jana and Müller, Julia and Quintana, Cintia Organo and Infantes, Eduardo}},
  issn         = {{1726-4170}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  number       = {{7}},
  pages        = {{1685--1705}},
  publisher    = {{Copernicus GmbH}},
  series       = {{Biogeosciences}},
  title        = {{Structural complexity and benthic metabolism : resolving the links between carbon cycling and biodiversity in restored seagrass meadows}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1685-2024}},
  doi          = {{10.5194/bg-21-1685-2024}},
  volume       = {{21}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}