Articles | Volume 13, issue 17
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4915-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4915-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
07 Sep 2016
Research article |
| 07 Sep 2016
Can mud (silt and clay) concentration be used to predict soil organic carbon content within seagrass ecosystems?
Oscar Serrano
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
School of Natural Sciences & Centre for Marine Ecosystems
Research, Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science, Edith Cowan
University, Joondalup, 6027, Western Australia
The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia,
Crawley, WA, Australia
Paul S. Lavery
School of Natural Sciences & Centre for Marine Ecosystems
Research, Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science, Edith Cowan
University, Joondalup, 6027, Western Australia
Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes, Consejo Superior de
Investigaciones Científicas, Blanes, 17300, Spain
Carlos M. Duarte
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
Gary A. Kendrick
The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia,
Crawley, WA, Australia
The School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia,
Crawley, WA, Australia
Antoni Calafat
GRC Geociències Marines, Departament de Dinàmica de la Terra i
de l'Oceà, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Paul H. York
Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER),
James Cook University, Cairns QLD 4870, Australia
Andy Steven
CSIRO, EcoSciences Precinct – Dutton Park 41 Boggo Road Dutton Park
QLD 4102, Australia
Peter I. Macreadie
Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental
Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
Plant Functional Biology and Climate Change Cluster, University of
Technology Sydney, Broadway, New South Wales 2007, Australia
Related authors
Ariane Arias-Ortiz, Pere Masqué, Jordi Garcia-Orellana, Oscar Serrano, Inés Mazarrasa, Núria Marbà, Catherine E. Lovelock, Paul S. Lavery, and Carlos M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 15, 6791–6818, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6791-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6791-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Efforts to include tidal marsh, mangrove and seagrass ecosystems in existing carbon mitigation strategies are limited by a lack of estimates of carbon accumulation rates (CARs). We discuss the use of 210Pb dating to determine CARs in these habitats, which are often composed of heterogeneous sediments and affected by sedimentary processes. Results show that obtaining reliable geochronologies in these systems is ambitious, but estimates of mean 100-year CARs are mostly secure within 20 % error.
Oscar Serrano, Aurora M. Ricart, Paul S. Lavery, Miguel Angel Mateo, Ariane Arias-Ortiz, Pere Masque, Mohammad Rozaimi, Andy Steven, and Carlos M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 13, 4581–4594, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4581-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4581-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The recent focus on carbon (C) trading has intensified interest in "Blue Carbon" – C sequestered by coastal vegetation. However, the factors influencing C storage are poorly understood. The patterns found in this study support that C storage in Posidonia seagrass soils is influenced by interactions of biological, chemical and physical factors within the meadow. We conclude that there is a need to improve global estimates accounting for biogeochemical factors driving variability within habitats.
I. Mazarrasa, N. Marbà, C. E. Lovelock, O. Serrano, P. S. Lavery, J. W. Fourqurean, H. Kennedy, M. A. Mateo, D. Krause-Jensen, A. D. L. Steven, and C. M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 12, 4993–5003, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4993-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4993-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
There has been growing interest in quantifying the capacity of seagrass ecosystems to act as carbon sinks as a natural way of offsetting anthropogenic carbon emissions to the atmosphere. However, most of the efforts have focused on the organic fraction and ignored the inorganic carbon pool. This study offers the first global assessment of PIC stocks and accumulation rates in seagrass sediments, identifying these ecosystems as important contributors to carbonate dynamics in coastal areas.
Jessica Breavington, Alexandra Steckbauer, Chuancheng Fu, Mongi Ennasri, and Carlos M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 22, 117–134, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-117-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-117-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Mangrove carbon storage in the Red Sea is lower than average due to challenging growth conditions. We collected mangrove soil cores over multiple seasons to measure greenhouse gas (GHG) flux of carbon dioxide and methane. GHG emissions are a small offset to mangrove carbon storage overall but punctuated by periods of high emission. This variation is linked to environmental and soil properties, which were also measured. The findings aid understanding of GHG dynamics in arid mangrove ecosystems.
Christian Lønborg, Cátia Carreira, Gwenaël Abril, Susana Agustí, Valentina Amaral, Agneta Andersson, Javier Arístegui, Punyasloke Bhadury, Mariana B. Bif, Alberto V. Borges, Steven Bouillon, Maria Ll. Calleja, Luiz C. Cotovicz Jr., Stefano Cozzi, Maryló Doval, Carlos M. Duarte, Bradley Eyre, Cédric G. Fichot, E. Elena García-Martín, Alexandra Garzon-Garcia, Michele Giani, Rafael Gonçalves-Araujo, Renee Gruber, Dennis A. Hansell, Fuminori Hashihama, Ding He, Johnna M. Holding, William R. Hunter, J. Severino P. Ibánhez, Valeria Ibello, Shan Jiang, Guebuem Kim, Katja Klun, Piotr Kowalczuk, Atsushi Kubo, Choon-Weng Lee, Cláudia B. Lopes, Federica Maggioni, Paolo Magni, Celia Marrase, Patrick Martin, S. Leigh McCallister, Roisin McCallum, Patricia M. Medeiros, Xosé Anxelu G. Morán, Frank E. Muller-Karger, Allison Myers-Pigg, Marit Norli, Joanne M. Oakes, Helena Osterholz, Hyekyung Park, Maria Lund Paulsen, Judith A. Rosentreter, Jeff D. Ross, Digna Rueda-Roa, Chiara Santinelli, Yuan Shen, Eva Teira, Tinkara Tinta, Guenther Uher, Masahide Wakita, Nicholas Ward, Kenta Watanabe, Yu Xin, Youhei Yamashita, Liyang Yang, Jacob Yeo, Huamao Yuan, Qiang Zheng, and Xosé Antón Álvarez-Salgado
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 1107–1119, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1107-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1107-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, we present the first edition of a global database compiling previously published and unpublished measurements of dissolved organic matter (DOM) collected in coastal waters (CoastDOM v1). Overall, the CoastDOM v1 dataset will be useful to identify global spatial and temporal patterns and to facilitate reuse in studies aimed at better characterizing local biogeochemical processes and identifying a baseline for modelling future changes in coastal waters.
Afrah Alothman, Daffne López-Sandoval, Carlos M. Duarte, and Susana Agustí
Biogeosciences, 20, 3613–3624, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3613-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3613-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates bacterial dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) fixation in the Red Sea, an oligotrophic ecosystem, using stable-isotope labeling and spectroscopy. The research reveals that bacterial DIC fixation significantly contributes to total DIC fixation, in the surface and deep water. The study demonstrates that as primary production decreases, the role of bacterial DIC fixation increases, emphasizing its importance with photosynthesis in estimating oceanic carbon dioxide production.
M. James McLaughlin, Cindy Bessey, Gary A. Kendrick, John Keesing, and Ylva S. Olsen
Biogeosciences, 20, 1011–1026, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1011-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1011-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Coral reefs face increasing pressures from environmental change at present. The coral reef framework is produced by corals and calcifying algae. The Kimberley region of Western Australia has escaped land-based anthropogenic impacts. Specimens of the dominant coral and algae were collected from Browse Island's reef platform and incubated in mesocosms to measure calcification and production patterns of oxygen. This study provides important data on reef building and climate-driven effects.
Nadia Burgoa, Francisco Machín, Ángeles Marrero-Díaz, Ángel Rodríguez-Santana, Antonio Martínez-Marrero, Javier Arístegui, and Carlos Manuel Duarte
Ocean Sci., 16, 483–511, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-483-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-483-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The main objective of the study is to analyze the export of carbon to the open ocean from the rich waters of the upwelling system of North Africa. South of the Canary Islands, permanent upwelling interacts with other physical processes impacting the main biogeochemical processes. Taking advantage of data from two cruises combined with the outputs of models, important conclusions from the differences observed between seasons are obtained, largely related to changes in the CVFZ in this area.
Carolyn J. Ewers Lewis, Mary A. Young, Daniel Ierodiaconou, Jeffrey A. Baldock, Bruce Hawke, Jonathan Sanderman, Paul E. Carnell, and Peter I. Macreadie
Biogeosciences, 17, 2041–2059, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2041-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2041-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Blue carbonecosystems – tidal marsh, mangrove, and seagrass – serve as important organic carbon sinks, mitigating impacts of climate change. We utilized a robust regional carbon stock dataset to identify ecological, geomorphological, and anthropogenic drivers of carbon stock variability and create high-spatial-resolution predictive carbon stock maps. This work facilitates strategic conservation and restoration of coastal blue carbon ecosystems to contribute to climate change mitigation.
Celina Burkholz, Neus Garcias-Bonet, and Carlos M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 17, 1717–1730, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1717-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1717-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Seagrass meadows store carbon in their biomass and sediments, but they have also been shown to be sources of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). We experimentally investigated the effect of warming and prolonged darkness on CO2 and CH4 fluxes in Red Sea seagrass (Halophila stipulacea) communities. Our results indicated that sublethal warming may lead to increased emissions of greenhouse gases from seagrass meadows which may contribute to further enhance global warming.
Kimberlee Baldry, Vincent Saderne, Daniel C. McCorkle, James H. Churchill, Susana Agusti, and Carlos M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 17, 423–439, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-423-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-423-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The carbon cycling of coastal ecosystems over large spatial scales is not well measured relative to the open ocean. In this study we measure the carbonate system in the three habitats, to measure ecosystem-driven changes compared to offshore waters. We find (1) 70 % of seagrass meadows and mangrove forests show large ecosystem-driven changes, and (2) mangrove forests show strong and consistent trends over large scales, while seagrass meadows display more variability.
Miguel Agulles, Gabriel Jordà, Burt Jones, Susana Agustí, and Carlos M. Duarte
Ocean Sci., 16, 149–166, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-149-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-149-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The Red Sea holds one of the most diverse marine ecosystems in the world, although fragile and vulnerable to ocean warming. To better understand the long-term variability and trends of temperature in the whole water column, we produce a 3-D gridded temperature product (TEMPERSEA) for the period 1958–2017, based on a large number of in situ observations, covering the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Susana Agustí, Jeffrey W. Krause, Israel A. Marquez, Paul Wassmann, Svein Kristiansen, and Carlos M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 17, 35–45, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-35-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-35-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We found that 24 % of the total diatoms community in the Arctic water column (450 m depth) was located below the photic layer. Healthy diatom communities in active spring–bloom stages remained in the photic layer. Dying diatom communities exported a large fraction of the biomass to the aphotic zone, fuelling carbon sequestration and benthic ecosystems in the Arctic. The results of the study conform to a conceptual model where diatoms grow during the bloom until silicic acid stocks are depleted.
Daffne C. López-Sandoval, Katherine Rowe, Paloma Carillo-de-Albonoz, Carlos M. Duarte, and Susana Agustí
Biogeosciences, 16, 2983–2995, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2983-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2983-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We addressed how the intertwined effect of temperature and nutrients modulates the metabolic response of planktonic communities in the Red Sea, one of the warmest seas on earth. Our study unveiled that photosynthesis increases at a faster pace than respiration rates for this group of organisms formed by microalgae, bacteria, and drifting animals. This anomaly is likely due to the nature of the basin where the warmest waters are frequently enriched with nutrients, which favours microalgae growth.
Susann Rossbach, Vincent Saderne, Andrea Anton, and Carlos M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 16, 2635–2650, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2635-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2635-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Giant clams including the species Tridacna maxima are unique among bivalves as they live in symbiosis with unicellular algae and generally function as net photoautotrophs. Light is therefore crucial for these species to thrive. We show that net calcification and photosynthetic rates of T. maxima are light dependent, with maximum rates at conditions comparable to 4 m water depth, reflected also in the depth-related distribution in the Red Sea with maximum abundances in shallow sunlit coral reefs.
Neus Garcias-Bonet, Raquel Vaquer-Sunyer, Carlos M. Duarte, and Núria Marbà
Biogeosciences, 16, 167–175, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-167-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-167-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We assess the impact of warming on nitrogen fixation in three key Mediterranean macrophytes by experimentally measuring sediment nitrogen fixation rates at current and projected seawater temperature by 2100 under a scenario of moderate greenhouse gas emissions. The temperature dependence of nitrogen fixation could potentially increase rates by 37 % by the end of the century, with important consequences for primary production in coastal ecosystems.
Neus Garcias-Bonet, Marco Fusi, Muhammad Ali, Dario R. Shaw, Pascal E. Saikaly, Daniele Daffonchio, and Carlos M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 15, 7333–7346, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-7333-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-7333-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Nitrogen (N) loads are detrimental for coastal ecosystems. We measured the balance between N losses and gains in a Red Sea seagrass. The N loss was higher than N2 fixed, pointing out the importance of seagrasses in removing N from the system. N2 losses increased with temperature. Therefore, the forecasted warming could increase the N2 flux to the atmosphere, potentially impacting seagrass productivity and their capacity to mitigate climate change but also enhancing their potential N removal.
Ariane Arias-Ortiz, Pere Masqué, Jordi Garcia-Orellana, Oscar Serrano, Inés Mazarrasa, Núria Marbà, Catherine E. Lovelock, Paul S. Lavery, and Carlos M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 15, 6791–6818, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6791-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6791-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Efforts to include tidal marsh, mangrove and seagrass ecosystems in existing carbon mitigation strategies are limited by a lack of estimates of carbon accumulation rates (CARs). We discuss the use of 210Pb dating to determine CARs in these habitats, which are often composed of heterogeneous sediments and affected by sedimentary processes. Results show that obtaining reliable geochronologies in these systems is ambitious, but estimates of mean 100-year CARs are mostly secure within 20 % error.
Jeffrey W. Krause, Carlos M. Duarte, Israel A. Marquez, Philipp Assmy, Mar Fernández-Méndez, Ingrid Wiedmann, Paul Wassmann, Svein Kristiansen, and Susana Agustí
Biogeosciences, 15, 6503–6517, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6503-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6503-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Diatoms can dominate the Arctic Ocean spring bloom, the key annual event for regional food webs. Diatom growth requires silicon and this nutrient has been declining in the European Arctic. This study communicates an unprecedented combination of silicon-cycling measurements around Svalbard during the spring and shows that dissolved silicon can limit diatom production. These results suggest an important coupling of silicon and carbon cycling during the spring bloom in the European Arctic.
Mallory A. Sea, Neus Garcias-Bonet, Vincent Saderne, and Carlos M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 15, 5365–5375, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5365-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5365-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Mangroves are capable of storing carbon in their roots, leaves, and in the sediment; however they can also emit carbon as greenhouse gases (GHG) to the atmosphere. In this study, we collected sediment cores and calculated GHG flux rates from mangrove forests along the Red Sea coastline. Using flux rates reported in this study, we determined that Red Sea mangroves are net carbon sinks, storing more carbon than they emit. This study provides rationale to conserve and expand Red Sea mangroves.
Aisling Fontanini, Alexandra Steckbauer, Sam Dupont, and Carlos M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 15, 3717–3729, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3717-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3717-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Invertebrate species of the Gullmar Fjord (Sweden) were exposed to four different treatments (high/low oxygen and low/high CO2) and respiration measured. Respiration responses of species of contrasting habitats and life-history strategies to single and multiple stressors was evaluated. Results show that the responses of the respiration were highly species specific as we observed both synergetic as well as antagonistic responses, and neither phylum nor habitat explained trends in respiration.
Francesca Iuculano, Carlos Maria Duarte, Núria Marbà, and Susana Agustí
Biogeosciences, 14, 5069–5075, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5069-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5069-2017, 2017
Jeffrey J. Kelleway, Neil Saintilan, Peter I. Macreadie, Jeffrey A. Baldock, and Peter J. Ralph
Biogeosciences, 14, 3763–3779, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-3763-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-3763-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we compare rates of accretion, C content, source and stability between different salt marsh vegetation assemblages, using a range of analytical techniques. We find substantial differences in surface and carbon dynamics among assemblages, driven by both biological and physical processes. These findings have important implications for the fate of tidal wetlands and their capacity for accumulating carbon during a time of environmental change.
Carlos M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 14, 301–310, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-301-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-301-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Vegetated coastal habitats (mangroves, seagrass meadows, salt marshes and macroalgal beds) are key contributors to the marine carbon budget, but remain hidden in the representation of the coastal carbon budget. While they have been acknowledged to play an important role in carbon burial, this is small compared to the export flow, which may lead to carbon sequestration beyond these habitats. The carbon fluxes supported by vegetated coastal habitats are globally relevant.
Emlyn M. Jones, Mark E. Baird, Mathieu Mongin, John Parslow, Jenny Skerratt, Jenny Lovell, Nugzar Margvelashvili, Richard J. Matear, Karen Wild-Allen, Barbara Robson, Farhan Rizwi, Peter Oke, Edward King, Thomas Schroeder, Andy Steven, and John Taylor
Biogeosciences, 13, 6441–6469, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-6441-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-6441-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Marine biogeochemical models are often used to understand water quality, nutrient and blue-carbon dynamics at scales that range from estuaries and bays, through to the global ocean. We introduce a new methodology allowing for the assimilation of observed remote sensing reflectances, avoiding the need to use empirically derived chlorophyll-a concentrations. This method opens up the possibility to assimilate of reflectances from a variety of missions and potentially non-satellite platforms.
Oscar Serrano, Aurora M. Ricart, Paul S. Lavery, Miguel Angel Mateo, Ariane Arias-Ortiz, Pere Masque, Mohammad Rozaimi, Andy Steven, and Carlos M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 13, 4581–4594, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4581-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4581-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The recent focus on carbon (C) trading has intensified interest in "Blue Carbon" – C sequestered by coastal vegetation. However, the factors influencing C storage are poorly understood. The patterns found in this study support that C storage in Posidonia seagrass soils is influenced by interactions of biological, chemical and physical factors within the meadow. We conclude that there is a need to improve global estimates accounting for biogeochemical factors driving variability within habitats.
I. Mazarrasa, N. Marbà, C. E. Lovelock, O. Serrano, P. S. Lavery, J. W. Fourqurean, H. Kennedy, M. A. Mateo, D. Krause-Jensen, A. D. L. Steven, and C. M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 12, 4993–5003, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4993-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4993-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
There has been growing interest in quantifying the capacity of seagrass ecosystems to act as carbon sinks as a natural way of offsetting anthropogenic carbon emissions to the atmosphere. However, most of the efforts have focused on the organic fraction and ignored the inorganic carbon pool. This study offers the first global assessment of PIC stocks and accumulation rates in seagrass sediments, identifying these ecosystems as important contributors to carbonate dynamics in coastal areas.
D. Krause-Jensen, C. M. Duarte, I. E. Hendriks, L. Meire, M. E. Blicher, N. Marbà, and M. K. Sejr
Biogeosciences, 12, 4895–4911, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4895-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4895-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
The Arctic Ocean is considered the most vulnerable ecosystem to ocean acidification (OA), but very little information is available on natural variability of pH in the Arctic coastal zone. We report pH variability at various scales in a Greenland fjord. Variability ranged up to 0.2-0.3 pH units horizontally and vertically in the fjord, between seasons and on diel basis in kelp forests and was extreme in tidal pools. Overall, primary producers played a fundamental role in producing mosaics of pH.
L. S. García-Corral, E. Barber, A. Regaudie-de-Gioux, S. Sal, J. M. Holding, S. Agustí, N. Navarro, P. Serret, P. Mozetič, and C. M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 11, 4529–4540, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-4529-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-4529-2014, 2014
I. E. Hendriks, Y. S. Olsen, L. Ramajo, L. Basso, A. Steckbauer, T. S. Moore, J. Howard, and C. M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 11, 333–346, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-333-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-333-2014, 2014
S. Lasternas, M. Piedeleu, P. Sangrà, C. M. Duarte, and S. Agustí
Biogeosciences, 10, 2129–2143, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-2129-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-2129-2013, 2013
R. Vaquer-Sunyer, C. M. Duarte, J. Holding, A. Regaudie-de-Gioux, L. S. García-Corral, M. Reigstad, and P. Wassmann
Biogeosciences, 10, 1451–1469, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-1451-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-1451-2013, 2013
M. Alcaraz, R. Almeda, E. Saiz, A. Calbet, C. M. Duarte, S. Agustí, R. Santiago, and A. Alonso
Biogeosciences, 10, 689–697, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-689-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-689-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Biogeochemistry: Soils
Solubility characteristics of soil humic substances as a function of pH: mechanisms and biogeochemical perspectives
Exploring microscale heterogeneity as a driver of biogeochemical transformations and gas transport in peat
Dissolved organic matter fosters core mercury-methylating microbiomes for methylmercury production in paddy soils
A microbially driven and depth-explicit soil organic carbon model constrained by carbon isotopes to reduce parameter equifinality
Earth observation reveals reduced winter wheat growth and the importance of plant available water during drought
Plutonium concentrations link soil organic matter decline to wind erosion in ploughed soils of South Africa
A synthesis of Sphagnum litterbag experiments: initial leaching losses bias decomposition rate estimates
Effect of straw retention and mineral fertilization on P speciation and P-transformation microorganisms in water- extractable colloids of a Vertisol
A new approach to continuous monitoring of carbon use efficiency and biosynthesis in soil microbes from measurement of CO2 and O2
Validating laboratory insights into the drivers of soil rewetting respiration pulses with field measurements
Diverse organic carbon dynamics captured by radiocarbon analysis of distinct compound classes in a grassland soil
Effects of basalt, concrete fines, and steel slag on maize growth and heavy metal accumulation in an enhanced weathering experiment
The effects of land use on soil carbon stocks in the UK
Technical note: A validated correction method to quantify organic and inorganic carbon in soils using Rock-Eval® thermal analysis
Depth Effects of Long-term Organic Residue Application on Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Central Kenya
Distinct changes in carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling in the litter layer across two contrasting forest-tundra ecotones
Vegetation patterns associated with nutrient availability and supply in high-elevation tropical Andean ecosystems
Technical note: An open-source, low-cost system for continuous monitoring of low nitrate concentrations in soil and open water
Long-term fertilization increases soil but not plant or microbial N in a Chihuahuan Desert grassland
Factors controlling spatiotemporal variability of soil carbon accumulation and stock estimates in a tidal salt marsh
Moisture and temperature effects on the radiocarbon signature of respired carbon dioxide to assess stability of soil carbon in the Tibetan Plateau
Non-mycorrhizal root-associated fungi increase soil C stocks and stability via diverse mechanisms
Drought counteracts soil warming more strongly in the subsoil than in the topsoil according to a vertical microbial SOC model
Nine years of warming and nitrogen addition in the Tibetan grassland promoted loss of soil organic carbon but did not alter the bulk change in chemical structure
Soil priming effects and involved microbial community along salt gradients
Adjustments to the Rock-Eval® thermal analysis for soil organic and inorganic carbon quantification
Ecosystem-specific patterns and drivers of global reactive iron mineral-associated organic carbon
Dark septate endophytic fungi associated with pioneer grass inhabiting volcanic deposits and their functions in promoting plant growth
Global patterns and drivers of phosphorus fractions in natural soils
Reviews and syntheses: Iron – a driver of nitrogen bioavailability in soils?
How well does ramped thermal oxidation quantify the age distribution of soil carbon? Assessing thermal stability of physically and chemically fractionated soil organic matter
Differential temperature sensitivity of intracellular metabolic processes and extracellular soil enzyme activities
Mapping soil organic carbon fractions for Australia, their stocks, and uncertainty
Technical note: The recovery rate of free particulate organic matter from soil samples is strongly affected by the method of density fractionation
Deforestation for agriculture leads to soil warming and enhanced litter decomposition in subarctic soils
Temperature sensitivity of soil organic carbon respiration along a forested elevation gradient in the Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda
The influence of elevated CO2 and soil depth on rhizosphere activity and nutrient availability in a mature Eucalyptus woodland
The paradox of assessing greenhouse gases from soils for nature-based solutions
Management-induced changes in soil organic carbon on global croplands
Pore network modeling as a new tool for determining gas diffusivity in peat
Temperature sensitivity of dark CO2 fixation in temperate forest soils
Effects of precipitation seasonality, irrigation, vegetation cycle and soil type on enhanced weathering – modeling of cropland case studies across four sites
Stable isotope profiles of soil organic carbon in forested and grassland landscapes in the Lake Alaotra basin (Madagascar): insights in past vegetation changes
Reviews and syntheses: The promise of big diverse soil data, moving current practices towards future potential
Dynamics of rare earth elements and associated major and trace elements during Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) litter degradation
To what extent can soil moisture and soil Cu contamination stresses affect nitrous species emissions? Estimation through calibration of a nitrification–denitrification model
Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus stoichiometry of organic matter in Swedish forest soils and its relationship with climate, tree species, and soil texture
Soil geochemistry as a driver of soil organic matter composition: insights from a soil chronosequence
Leaching of inorganic and organic phosphorus and nitrogen in contrasting beech forest soils – seasonal patterns and effects of fertilization
Age and chemistry of dissolved organic carbon reveal enhanced leaching of ancient labile carbon at the permafrost thaw zone
Xuemei Yang, Jie Zhang, Khan M. G. Mostofa, Mohammad Mohinuzzaman, H. Henry Teng, Nicola Senesi, Giorgio S. Senesi, Jie Yuan, Yu Liu, Si-Liang Li, Xiaodong Li, Baoli Wang, and Cong-Qiang Liu
Biogeosciences, 22, 1745–1765, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1745-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1745-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The solubility characteristics of soil humic acids (HAs), fulvic acids (FAs), and protein-like substances (PLSs) at varying pH levels remain unclear. The key findings include the following: HA solubility increases with increasing pH and decreases with decreasing pH; HApH6 and HApH1 contribute to 39.1–49.2% and 3.1–24.1% of dissolved organic carbon, respectively; and HApH2, FA, and PLSs are highly soluble at acidic pHs and are transported by ambient water. These issues are crucial for sustainable soil management.
Lukas Kohl, Petri Kiuru, Marjo Palviainen, Maarit Raivonen, Markku Koskinen, Mari Pihlatie, and Annamari Laurén
Biogeosciences, 22, 1711–1727, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1711-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1711-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We present an assay to illuminate heterogeneity in biogeochemical transformations within peat samples. For this, we injected isotope-labeled acetate into peat cores and monitored the release of label-derived gases, which we compared to microtomography images. The fraction of label converted to CO2 and the rapidness of this conversion were linked to injection depth and air-filled porosity.
Qiang Pu, Bo Meng, Jen-How Huang, Kun Zhang, Jiang Liu, Yurong Liu, Mahmoud A. Abdelhafiz, and Xinbin Feng
Biogeosciences, 22, 1543–1556, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1543-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1543-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study examines the effect of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on microbial mercury (Hg) methylation in paddy soils. It uncovers that DOM regulates Hg methylation mainly through altering core Hg-methylating microbiome composition and boosting the growth of core Hg-methylating microorganisms. The study highlights that in the regulation of methylmercury formation in paddy soils, more attention should be paid to changes in DOM concentration and composition.
Marijn Van de Broek, Gerard Govers, Marion Schrumpf, and Johan Six
Biogeosciences, 22, 1427–1446, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1427-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1427-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Soil organic carbon models are used to predict how soils affect the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. We show that equifinality – the phenomenon that different parameter values lead to correct overall model outputs, albeit with a different model behaviour – is an important source of model uncertainty. Our results imply that adding more complexity to soil organic carbon models is unlikely to lead to better predictions as long as more data to constrain model parameters are not available.
Hanna Sjulgård, Lukas Valentin Graf, Tino Colombi, Juliane Hirte, Thomas Keller, and Helge Aasen
Biogeosciences, 22, 1341–1354, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1341-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1341-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Our study showed that stress-related crop response to changing environmental conditions can be detected by monitoring crops using satellite images at the landscape level. This could be useful for farmers to identify when stresses occur. Our results also suggest that satellite imagery can be used to discover soil impacts on crop development at farm fields. The inclusion of soil properties in satellite image analyses could further improve the accuracy of the prediction of drought stress on crops.
Joel Mohren, Hendrik Wiesel, Wulf Amelung, L. Keith Fifield, Alexandra Sandhage-Hofmann, Erik Strub, Steven A. Binnie, Stefan Heinze, Elmarie Kotze, Chris Du Preez, Stephen G. Tims, and Tibor J. Dunai
Biogeosciences, 22, 1077–1094, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1077-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1077-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We measured concentrations of nuclear fallout in soil samples taken from arable land in South Africa. We find that during the second half of the 20th century, the data strongly correlate with the organic matter content of the soils. The finding implies that wind erosion strongly influenced the loss of organic matter in the soils we investigated. Furthermore, the exponential decline of fallout concentrations and organic matter content over time peaks shortly after native grassland is ploughed.
Henning Teickner, Edzer Pebesma, and Klaus-Holger Knorr
Biogeosciences, 22, 417–433, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-417-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-417-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Decomposition rates for Sphagnum mosses, the main peat-forming plants in northern peatlands, are often derived from litterbag experiments. Here, we estimate initial leaching losses from available Sphagnum litterbag experiments and analyze how decomposition rates are biased when initial leaching losses are ignored. Our analyses indicate that initial leaching losses range between 3 to 18 mass-% and that this may result in overestimated mass losses when extrapolated to several decades.
Shanshan Bai, Yifei Ge, Dongtan Yao, Yifan Wang, Jinfang Tan, Shuai Zhang, Yutao Peng, and Xiaoqian Jiang
Biogeosciences, 22, 135–151, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-135-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-135-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Mineral fertilization led to increases in total P, available P, high-activity inorganic P fractions, and organic P but reduced the abundance of P-cycling genes by decreasing soil pH and increasing P in bulk soil. Straw retention enhanced organic carbon, total P, and available P concentrations in water-extractable colloids (WECs). Abundances of the phoD gene and phoD-harboring Proteobacteria in WECs were elevated under straw retention, suggesting an increase in P-mineralization capacity.
Kyle E. Smart, Daniel O. Breecker, Christopher B. Blackwood, and Timothy M. Gallagher
Biogeosciences, 22, 87–101, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-87-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-87-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
When microbes consume carbon within soils, it is important to know how much carbon is respired and lost as carbon dioxide versus how much is used to make new biomass. We used a new approach of monitoring carbon dioxide and oxygen to track the fate of consumed carbon during a series of laboratory experiments where sugar was added to moistened soil. Our approach allowed us to estimate how much sugar was converted to dead microbial biomass, which is more likely to be preserved in soils.
Xiankun Li, Marleen Pallandt, Dilip Naidu, Johannes Rousk, Gustaf Hugelius, and Stefano Manzoni
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3324, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3324, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
While laboratory studies have identified many drivers and their effects on the carbon emission pulse after rewetting of dry soils, a validation with field data is still missing. Here, we show that the carbon emission pulse in the laboratory and in the field increases with soil organic carbon and temperature, but their trends with pre-rewetting dryness and moisture increment at rewetting differ. We conclude that the laboratory findings can be partially validated.
Katherine E. Grant, Marisa N. Repasch, Kari M. Finstad, Julia D. Kerr, Maxwell Marple, Christopher J. Larson, Taylor A. B. Broek, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, and Karis J. McFarlane
Biogeosciences, 21, 4395–4411, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4395-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4395-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Soils store organic carbon composed of multiple compounds from plants and microbes for different lengths of time. To understand how soils store these different carbon types, we measure the time each carbon fraction is in a grassland soil profile. Our results show that the length of time each individual soil fraction is in our soil changes. Our approach allows a detailed look at the different components in soils. This study can help improve our understanding of soil dynamics.
Jet Rijnders, Arthur Vienne, and Sara Vicca
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3022, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3022, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A mesocosm experiment was set-up to investigate how maize responds to basalt, concrete fines and steel slags application, using a dose-response approach. Biomass increased with basalt application, but did not change with concrete fines or steel slags, except for increased tassel biomass. Mg, Ca and Si generally increased in the crops, while heavy metal concentrations remained unaffected or even decreased in the plants. Overall, crops were positively affected by application of silicate materials.
Peter Levy, Laura Bentley, Peter Danks, Bridget Emmett, Angus Garbutt, Stephen Heming, Peter Henrys, Aidan Keith, Inma Lebron, Niall McNamara, Richard Pywell, John Redhead, David Robinson, and Alexander Wickenden
Biogeosciences, 21, 4301–4315, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4301-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4301-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We collated a large data set (15 790 soil cores) on soil carbon stock in different land uses. Soil carbon stocks were highest in woodlands and lowest in croplands. The variability in the effects was large. This has important implications for agri-environment schemes seeking to sequester carbon in the soil by altering land use because the effect of a given intervention is very hard to verify.
Marija Stojanova, Pierre Arbelet, François Baudin, Nicolas Bouton, Giovanni Caria, Lorenza Pacini, Nicolas Proix, Edouard Quibel, Achille Thin, and Pierre Barré
Biogeosciences, 21, 4229–4237, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4229-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4229-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Because of its importance for climate regulation and soil health, many studies focus on carbon dynamics in soils. However, quantifying organic and inorganic carbon remains an issue in carbonated soils. In this technical note, we propose a validated correction method to quantify organic and inorganic carbon in soils using Rock-Eval® thermal analysis. With this correction, the Rock-Eval® method has the potential to become the standard method for quantifying carbon in carbonate soils.
Claude Raoul Müller, Johan Six, Daniel Mugendi Njiru, Bernard Vanlauwe, and Marijn Van de Broek
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2796, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2796, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We studied how different organic and inorganic nutrient inputs affect soil organic carbon (SOC) down to 70 cm in Kenya. After 19 years, all organic treatments increased SOC stocks as compared to the control, but mineral nitrogen had no significant effect. Manure was the organic treatment that significantly increased SOC the deepest as its effect could be observed down to 60 cm. Manure was the best strategy to limit SOC loss in croplands and maintain soil quality after deforestation.
Frank Hagedorn, Joesphine Imboden, Pavel Moiseev, Decai Gao, Emmanuel Frossard, Daniel Christen, Konstantin Gavazov, and Jasmin Fetzer
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2622, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2622, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
At treeline, plant species change abruptly from low stature plants in tundra to trees in forests. Our study documents that from tundra towards forest, the litter layer gets strongly enriched in nutrients. We show that these litter quality changes alter nutrient processing by soil microbes and increase the nutrient release during decomposition in forest than in tundra. The associated improvement of nutrient availability in the forest potentially stimulates tree growth and treeline shifts.
Armando Molina, Veerle Vanacker, Oliver Chadwick, Santiago Zhiminaicela, Marife Corre, and Edzo Veldkamp
Biogeosciences, 21, 3075–3091, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3075-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3075-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The tropical Andes contains unique landscapes where forest patches are surrounded by tussock grasses and cushion-forming plants. The aboveground vegetation composition informs us about belowground nutrient availability: patterns in plant-available nutrients resulted from strong biocycling of cations and removal of soil nutrients by plant uptake or leaching. Future changes in vegetation distribution will affect soil water and solute fluxes and the aquatic ecology of Andean rivers and lakes.
Sahiti Bulusu, Cristina Prieto García, Helen E. Dahlke, and Elad Levintal
Biogeosciences, 21, 3007–3013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3007-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3007-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Do-it-yourself hardware is a new way to improve measurement resolution. We present a low-cost, automated system for field measurements of low nitrate concentrations in soil porewater and open water bodies. All data hardware components cost USD 1100, which is much cheaper than other available commercial solutions. We provide the complete building guide to reduce technical barriers, which we hope will allow easier reproducibility and set up new soil and environmental monitoring applications.
Violeta Mendoza-Martinez, Scott L. Collins, and Jennie R. McLaren
Biogeosciences, 21, 2655–2667, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2655-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2655-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We examine the impacts of multi-decadal nitrogen additions on a dryland ecosystem N budget, including the soil, microbial, and plant N pools. After 26 years, there appears to be little impact on the soil microbial or plant community and only minimal increases in N pools within the soil. While perhaps encouraging from a conservation standpoint, we calculate that greater than 95 % of the nitrogen added to the system is not retained and is instead either lost deeper in the soil or emitted as gas.
Sean Fettrow, Andrew Wozniak, Holly A. Michael, and Angelia L. Seyfferth
Biogeosciences, 21, 2367–2384, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2367-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2367-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Salt marshes play a big role in global carbon (C) storage, and C stock estimates are used to predict future changes. However, spatial and temporal gradients in C burial rates over the landscape exist due to variations in water inundation, dominant plant species and stage of growth, and tidal action. We quantified soil C concentrations in soil cores across time and space beside several porewater biogeochemical variables and discussed the controls on variability in soil C in salt marsh ecosystems.
Andrés Tangarife-Escobar, Georg Guggenberger, Xiaojuan Feng, Guohua Dai, Carolina Urbina-Malo, Mina Azizi-Rad, and Carlos A. Sierra
Biogeosciences, 21, 1277–1299, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1277-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1277-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Soil organic matter stability depends on future temperature and precipitation scenarios. We used radiocarbon (14C) data and model predictions to understand how the transit time of carbon varies under environmental change in grasslands and peatlands. Soil moisture affected the Δ14C of peatlands, while temperature did not have any influence. Our models show the correspondence between Δ14C and transit time and could allow understanding future interactions between terrestrial and atmospheric carbon
Emiko K. Stuart, Laura Castañeda-Gómez, Wolfram Buss, Jeff R. Powell, and Yolima Carrillo
Biogeosciences, 21, 1037–1059, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1037-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1037-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We inoculated wheat plants with various types of fungi whose impacts on soil carbon are poorly understood. After several months of growth, we examined both their impacts on soil carbon and the underlying mechanisms using multiple methods. Overall the fungi benefitted the storage of carbon in soil, mainly by improving the stability of pre-existing carbon, but several pathways were involved. This study demonstrates their importance for soil carbon storage and, therefore, climate change mitigation.
Marleen Pallandt, Marion Schrumpf, Holger Lange, Markus Reichstein, Lin Yu, and Bernhard Ahrens
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-186, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-186, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
As soils get warmer due to climate change, SOC decomposes faster because of higher microbial activity, but only with sufficient soil moisture. We modelled how microbes decompose plant litter and microbial residues at different soil depths. We found that deep soil layers are more sensitive than topsoils. SOC is lost from the soil with warming, but this can be mitigated or worsened depending on the type of litter and its sensitivity to temperature. Droughts can reduce warming-induced SOC losses.
Huimin Sun, Michael W. I. Schmidt, Jintao Li, Jinquan Li, Xiang Liu, Nicholas O. E. Ofiti, Shurong Zhou, and Ming Nie
Biogeosciences, 21, 575–589, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-575-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-575-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A soil organic carbon (SOC) molecular structure suggested that the easily decomposable and stabilized SOC is similarly affected after 9-year warming and N treatments despite large changes in SOC stocks. Given the long residence time of some SOC, the similar loss of all measurable chemical forms of SOC under global change treatments could have important climate consequences.
Haoli Zhang, Doudou Chang, Zhifeng Zhu, Chunmei Meng, and Kaiyong Wang
Biogeosciences, 21, 1–11, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Soil salinity mediates microorganisms and soil processes like soil organic carbon (SOC) cycling. We observed that negative priming effects at the early stages might be due to the preferential utilization of cottonseed meal. The positive priming that followed decreased with the increase in salinity.
Joséphine Hazera, David Sebag, Isabelle Kowalewski, Eric Verrecchia, Herman Ravelojaona, and Tiphaine Chevallier
Biogeosciences, 20, 5229–5242, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-5229-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-5229-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study adapts the Rock-Eval® protocol to quantify soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil inorganic carbon (SIC) on a non-pretreated soil aliquot. The standard protocol properly estimates SOC contents once the TOC parameter is corrected. However, it cannot complete the thermal breakdown of SIC amounts > 4 mg, leading to an underestimation of high SIC contents by the MinC parameter, even after correcting for this. Thus, the final oxidation isotherm is extended to 7 min to quantify any SIC amount.
Bo Zhao, Amin Dou, Zhiwei Zhang, Zhenyu Chen, Wenbo Sun, Yanli Feng, Xiaojuan Wang, and Qiang Wang
Biogeosciences, 20, 4761–4774, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4761-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4761-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study provided a comprehensive analysis of the spatial variability and determinants of Fe-bound organic carbon (Fe-OC) among terrestrial, wetland, and marine ecosystems and its governing factors globally. We illustrated that reactive Fe was not only an important sequestration mechanism for OC in terrestrial ecosystems but also an effective “rusty sink” of OC preservation in wetland and marine ecosystems, i.e., a key factor for long-term OC storage in global ecosystems.
Han Sun, Tomoyasu Nishizawa, Hiroyuki Ohta, and Kazuhiko Narisawa
Biogeosciences, 20, 4737–4749, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4737-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4737-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this research, we assessed the diversity and function of the dark septate endophytic (DSE) fungi community associated with Miscanthus condensatus root in volcanic ecosystems. Both metabarcoding and isolation were adopted in this study. We further validated effects on plant growth by inoculation of some core DSE isolates. This study helps improve our understanding of the role of Miscanthus condensatus-associated DSE fungi during the restoration of post-volcanic ecosystems.
Xianjin He, Laurent Augusto, Daniel S. Goll, Bruno Ringeval, Ying-Ping Wang, Julian Helfenstein, Yuanyuan Huang, and Enqing Hou
Biogeosciences, 20, 4147–4163, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4147-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4147-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We identified total soil P concentration as the most important predictor of all soil P pool concentrations, except for primary mineral P concentration, which is primarily controlled by soil pH and only secondarily by total soil P concentration. We predicted soil P pools’ distributions in natural systems, which can inform assessments of the role of natural P availability for ecosystem productivity, climate change mitigation, and the functioning of the Earth system.
Imane Slimani, Xia Zhu-Barker, Patricia Lazicki, and William Horwath
Biogeosciences, 20, 3873–3894, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3873-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3873-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
There is a strong link between nitrogen availability and iron minerals in soils. These minerals have multiple outcomes for nitrogen availability depending on soil conditions and properties. For example, iron can limit microbial degradation of nitrogen in aerated soils but has opposing outcomes in non-aerated soils. This paper focuses on the multiple ways iron can affect nitrogen bioavailability in soils.
Shane W. Stoner, Marion Schrumpf, Alison Hoyt, Carlos A. Sierra, Sebastian Doetterl, Valier Galy, and Susan Trumbore
Biogeosciences, 20, 3151–3163, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3151-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3151-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Soils store more carbon (C) than any other terrestrial C reservoir, but the processes that control how much C stays in soil, and for how long, are very complex. Here, we used a recent method that involves heating soil in the lab to measure the range of C ages in soil. We found that most C in soil is decades to centuries old, while some stays for much shorter times (days to months), and some is thousands of years old. Such detail helps us to estimate how soil C may react to changing climate.
Adetunji Alex Adekanmbi, Laurence Dale, Liz Shaw, and Tom Sizmur
Biogeosciences, 20, 2207–2219, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2207-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2207-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The decomposition of soil organic matter and flux of carbon dioxide are expected to increase as temperatures rise. However, soil organic matter decomposition is a two-step process whereby large molecules are first broken down outside microbial cells and then respired within microbial cells. We show here that these two steps are not equally sensitive to increases in soil temperature and that global warming may cause a shift in the rate-limiting step from outside to inside the microbial cell.
Mercedes Román Dobarco, Alexandre M. J-C. Wadoux, Brendan Malone, Budiman Minasny, Alex B. McBratney, and Ross Searle
Biogeosciences, 20, 1559–1586, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1559-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1559-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Soil organic carbon (SOC) is of a heterogeneous nature and varies in chemistry, stabilisation mechanisms, and persistence in soil. In this study we mapped the stocks of SOC fractions with different characteristics and turnover rates (presumably PyOC >= MAOC > POC) across Australia, combining spectroscopy and digital soil mapping. The SOC stocks (0–30 cm) were estimated as 13 Pg MAOC, 2 Pg POC, and 5 Pg PyOC.
Frederick Büks
Biogeosciences, 20, 1529–1535, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1529-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1529-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Ultrasonication with density fractionation of soils is a commonly used method to separate soil organic matter pools, which is, e.g., important to calculate carbon turnover in landscapes. It is shown that the approach that merges soil and dense solution without mixing has a low recovery rate and causes co-extraction of parts of the retained labile pool along with the intermediate pool. An alternative method with high recovery rates and no cross-contamination was recommended.
Tino Peplau, Christopher Poeplau, Edward Gregorich, and Julia Schroeder
Biogeosciences, 20, 1063–1074, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1063-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1063-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We buried tea bags and temperature loggers in a paired-plot design in soils under forest and agricultural land and retrieved them after 2 years to quantify the effect of land-use change on soil temperature and litter decomposition in subarctic agricultural systems. We could show that agricultural soils were on average 2 °C warmer than forests and that litter decomposition was enhanced. The results imply that deforestation amplifies effects of climate change on soil organic matter dynamics.
Joseph Okello, Marijn Bauters, Hans Verbeeck, Samuel Bodé, John Kasenene, Astrid Françoys, Till Engelhardt, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Ralf Kiese, and Pascal Boeckx
Biogeosciences, 20, 719–735, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-719-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-719-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The increase in global and regional temperatures has the potential to drive accelerated soil organic carbon losses in tropical forests. We simulated climate warming by translocating intact soil cores from higher to lower elevations. The results revealed increasing temperature sensitivity and decreasing losses of soil organic carbon with increasing elevation. Our results suggest that climate warming may trigger enhanced losses of soil organic carbon from tropical montane forests.
Johanna Pihlblad, Louise C. Andresen, Catriona A. Macdonald, David S. Ellsworth, and Yolima Carrillo
Biogeosciences, 20, 505–521, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-505-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-505-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Elevated CO2 in the atmosphere increases forest biomass productivity when growth is not limited by soil nutrients. This study explores how mature trees stimulate soil availability of nitrogen and phosphorus with free-air carbon dioxide enrichment after 5 years of fumigation. We found that both nutrient availability and processes feeding available pools increased in the rhizosphere, and phosphorus increased at depth. This appears to not be by decomposition but by faster recycling of nutrients.
Rodrigo Vargas and Van Huong Le
Biogeosciences, 20, 15–26, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-15-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-15-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Quantifying the role of soils in nature-based solutions requires accurate estimates of soil greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes. We suggest that multiple GHG fluxes should not be simultaneously measured at a few fixed time intervals, but an optimized sampling approach can reduce bias and uncertainty. Our results have implications for assessing GHG fluxes from soils and a better understanding of the role of soils in nature-based solutions.
Kristine Karstens, Benjamin Leon Bodirsky, Jan Philipp Dietrich, Marta Dondini, Jens Heinke, Matthias Kuhnert, Christoph Müller, Susanne Rolinski, Pete Smith, Isabelle Weindl, Hermann Lotze-Campen, and Alexander Popp
Biogeosciences, 19, 5125–5149, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5125-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5125-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Soil organic carbon (SOC) has been depleted by anthropogenic land cover change and agricultural management. While SOC models often simulate detailed biochemical processes, the management decisions are still little investigated at the global scale. We estimate that soils have lost around 26 GtC relative to a counterfactual natural state in 1975. Yet, since 1975, SOC has been increasing again by 4 GtC due to a higher productivity, recycling of crop residues and manure, and no-tillage practices.
Petri Kiuru, Marjo Palviainen, Arianna Marchionne, Tiia Grönholm, Maarit Raivonen, Lukas Kohl, and Annamari Laurén
Biogeosciences, 19, 5041–5058, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5041-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5041-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Peatlands are large carbon stocks. Emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from peatlands may increase due to changes in management and climate. We studied the variation in the gas diffusivity of peat with depth using pore network simulations and laboratory experiments. Gas diffusivity was found to be lower in deeper peat with smaller pores and lower pore connectivity. However, gas diffusivity was not extremely low in wet conditions, which may reflect the distinctive structure of peat.
Rachael Akinyede, Martin Taubert, Marion Schrumpf, Susan Trumbore, and Kirsten Küsel
Biogeosciences, 19, 4011–4028, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4011-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4011-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Soils will likely become warmer in the future, and this can increase the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. As microbes can take up soil CO2 and prevent further escape into the atmosphere, this study compares the rate of uptake and release of CO2 at two different temperatures. With warming, the rate of CO2 uptake increases less than the rate of release, indicating that the capacity to modulate soil CO2 release into the atmosphere will decrease under future warming.
Giuseppe Cipolla, Salvatore Calabrese, Amilcare Porporato, and Leonardo V. Noto
Biogeosciences, 19, 3877–3896, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3877-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3877-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Enhanced weathering (EW) is a promising strategy for carbon sequestration. Since models may help to characterize field EW, the present work applies a hydro-biogeochemical model to four case studies characterized by different rainfall seasonality, vegetation and soil type. Rainfall seasonality strongly affects EW dynamics, but low carbon sequestration suggests that an in-depth analysis at the global scale is required to see if EW may be effective to mitigate climate change.
Vao Fenotiana Razanamahandry, Marjolein Dewaele, Gerard Govers, Liesa Brosens, Benjamin Campforts, Liesbet Jacobs, Tantely Razafimbelo, Tovonarivo Rafolisy, and Steven Bouillon
Biogeosciences, 19, 3825–3841, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3825-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3825-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In order to shed light on possible past vegetation shifts in the Central Highlands of Madagascar, we measured stable isotope ratios of organic carbon in soil profiles along both forested and grassland hillslope transects in the Lake Alaotra region. Our results show that the landscape of this region was more forested in the past: soils in the C4-dominated grasslands contained a substantial fraction of C3-derived carbon, increasing with depth.
Katherine E. O. Todd-Brown, Rose Z. Abramoff, Jeffrey Beem-Miller, Hava K. Blair, Stevan Earl, Kristen J. Frederick, Daniel R. Fuka, Mario Guevara Santamaria, Jennifer W. Harden, Katherine Heckman, Lillian J. Heran, James R. Holmquist, Alison M. Hoyt, David H. Klinges, David S. LeBauer, Avni Malhotra, Shelby C. McClelland, Lucas E. Nave, Katherine S. Rocci, Sean M. Schaeffer, Shane Stoner, Natasja van Gestel, Sophie F. von Fromm, and Marisa L. Younger
Biogeosciences, 19, 3505–3522, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3505-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3505-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Research data are becoming increasingly available online with tantalizing possibilities for reanalysis. However harmonizing data from different sources remains challenging. Using the soils community as an example, we walked through the various strategies that researchers currently use to integrate datasets for reanalysis. We find that manual data transcription is still extremely common and that there is a critical need for community-supported informatics tools like vocabularies and ontologies.
Alessandro Montemagno, Christophe Hissler, Victor Bense, Adriaan J. Teuling, Johanna Ziebel, and Laurent Pfister
Biogeosciences, 19, 3111–3129, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3111-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3111-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We investigated the biogeochemical processes that dominate the release and retention of elements (nutrients and potentially toxic elements) during litter degradation. Our results show that toxic elements are retained in the litter, while nutrients are released in solution during the first stages of degradation. This seems linked to the capability of trees to distribute the elements between degradation-resistant and non-degradation-resistant compounds of leaves according to their chemical nature.
Laura Sereni, Bertrand Guenet, Charlotte Blasi, Olivier Crouzet, Jean-Christophe Lata, and Isabelle Lamy
Biogeosciences, 19, 2953–2968, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2953-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2953-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study focused on the modellisation of two important drivers of soil greenhouse gas emissions: soil contamination and soil moisture change. The aim was to include a Cu function in the soil biogeochemical model DNDC for different soil moisture conditions and then to estimate variation in N2O, NO2 or NOx emissions. Our results show a larger effect of Cu on N2 and N2O emissions than on the other nitrogen species and a higher effect for the soils incubated under constant constant moisture.
Marie Spohn and Johan Stendahl
Biogeosciences, 19, 2171–2186, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2171-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2171-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We explored the ratios of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) of organic matter in Swedish forest soils. The N : P ratio of the organic layer was most strongly related to the mean annual temperature, while the C : N ratios of the organic layer and mineral soil were strongly related to tree species even in the subsoil. The organic P concentration in the mineral soil was strongly affected by soil texture, which diminished the effect of tree species on the C to organic P (C : OP) ratio.
Moritz Mainka, Laura Summerauer, Daniel Wasner, Gina Garland, Marco Griepentrog, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, and Sebastian Doetterl
Biogeosciences, 19, 1675–1689, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1675-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1675-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The largest share of terrestrial carbon is stored in soils, making them highly relevant as regards global change. Yet, the mechanisms governing soil carbon stabilization are not well understood. The present study contributes to a better understanding of these processes. We show that qualitative changes in soil organic matter (SOM) co-vary with alterations of the soil matrix following soil weathering. Hence, the type of SOM that is stabilized in soils might change as soils develop.
Jasmin Fetzer, Emmanuel Frossard, Klaus Kaiser, and Frank Hagedorn
Biogeosciences, 19, 1527–1546, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1527-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1527-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
As leaching is a major pathway of nitrogen and phosphorus loss in forest soils, we investigated several potential drivers in two contrasting beech forests. The composition of leachates, obtained by zero-tension lysimeters, varied by season, and climatic extremes influenced the magnitude of leaching. Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization varied with soil nutrient status and sorption properties, and leaching from the low-nutrient soil was more sensitive to environmental factors.
Karis J. McFarlane, Heather M. Throckmorton, Jeffrey M. Heikoop, Brent D. Newman, Alexandra L. Hedgpeth, Marisa N. Repasch, Thomas P. Guilderson, and Cathy J. Wilson
Biogeosciences, 19, 1211–1223, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1211-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1211-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Planetary warming is increasing seasonal thaw of permafrost, making this extensive old carbon stock vulnerable. In northern Alaska, we found more and older dissolved organic carbon in small drainages later in summer as more permafrost was exposed by deepening thaw. Younger and older carbon did not differ in chemical indicators related to biological lability suggesting this carbon can cycle through aquatic systems and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions as warming increases permafrost thaw.
Cited articles
Adame, M. F., Kauffman, J. B., Medina, I., Gamboa, J. N., Torres, O., Caamal J. P., Reza, M., and Herrera-Silveira, J.: Carbon stocks of tropical coastal wetlands within the karstic landscape of the Mexican Caribbean, PLoS ONE, 8, e56569, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0056569, 2013.
Aller, R. C.: Mobile deltaic and continental shelf muds as suboxic, fluidized bed reactors, Mar. Chem., 61, 143–155, 1998.
Amundson, R.: The carbon budget in soils, Annu. Rev. Earth Pl. Sc., 29, 535–562, 2001.
Bergamaschi, B. A., Tsamakis, E., Keil, R. G., and Eglinton, T. I.: The effect of grain size and surface area on organic matter, lignin and carbohydrate concentration, and molecular compositions in Peru Margin sediments, Geochem. Cosmochim. Ac., 61, 1247–1260, 1997.
Burdige, D. J.: Preservation of Organic Matter in Marine Sediments: Controls, Mechanisms, and an Imbalance in Sediment Organic Carbon Budgets?, Chem. Rev., 107, 467–485, https://doi.org/10.1021/cr050347q, 2007.
Cardona, L., Revelles, M., Sales, M., Aguilar, A., and Borrell, A.: Meadows of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica are a significant source of organic matter for adjoining ecosystems, Mar. Ecol.-Prog. Ser., 335, 123–131, 2007.
Carruthers, T. J. B., Dennison, W. C., Kendrick, G. A., Waycott, M., Walker, D. I., and Cambridge, M. L.: Seagrasses of south-west Australia: A conceptual synthesis of the world's most diverse and extensive seagrass meadows, J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 350, 21–45, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2007.05.036, 2007.
Collier, C. J., Lavery, P. S., Masini, R. J., and Ralph, P.: Physiological characteristics of the seagrass Posidonia sinuosa along a depth-related gradient of light availability, Mar. Ecol.-Prog. Ser., 353, 65–79, 2008.
Danovaro, R., Fabiano, M., and Boyer, M.: Seasonal changes of benthic bacteria in a seagrass bed (Posidonia oceanica) of the Ligurian Sea in relation to origin, composition and fate of the sediment organic matter, Mar. Biol., 119, 489–500, 1994.
Danovaro, R., Della Croce, N., Eleftheriou, A., Fabiano, M., Papadopoulou, N., Smith, C., and Tselepides, A.: Meiofauna of the deep Eastern Mediterranean Sea: distribution and abundance in relation to bacterial biomass, organic matter composition and other environmental factors, Prog. Oceanogr., 36, 329–341, 1995.
Dauwe, B., Middelburg, J. J., and Herman, P. M. J.: Effect of oxygen on the degradability of organic matter in subtidal and intertidal sediments of the North Sea area, Mar. Ecol.-Prog. Ser., 215, 13–22, 2001.
De Deyn, G. B., Cornelissen, J. H., and Bardgett, R. D.: Plant functional traits and soil carbon sequestration in contrasting biomes, Ecol. Lett., 11, 516–531, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2008.01164.x, 2008.
De Falco, G., Magni, P., Teräsvuori, L. M. H., and Matteucci, G.: Sediment grain size and organic carbon distribution in the Cabras lagoon (Sardinia, Western Mediterranean), Chem. Ecol., 20, 367–377, https://doi.org/10.1080/02757540310001629189, 2004.
De Falco, G., Tonielli, R., Di Martino, G., Innangi, S., Simeone, S., and Parnum, I.M.: Relationships between multibeam backscatter, sediment grain size and Posidonia oceanica seagrass distribution, Cont. Shelf Res., 30, 1941–1950, 2010.
Deudero, S., Box, A., Alós, J., Arroyo, N. L., and Marbà, N.: Functional changes due to invasive species: Food web shifts at shallow Posidonia oceanica seagrass beds colonized by the alien macroalga Caulerpa racemosa, Estuar. Coast. Shelf S., 93, 106–116, 2011.
Donato, D. C., Kauffman, J. B., Murdiyarso, D., Kurnianto, S., Stidham, M., and Kanninen, M.: Mangroves among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics, Nat. Geosci., 4, 293–297, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1123, 2011.
Duarte, C. and Chiscano, C. L.: Seagrass biomass and production: a reassessment, Aquat. Bot., 65, 159–174, 1999.
Duarte, C. M., Marbà, N., Gacia, E., Fourqurean, J. W., Beggins, J., Barrón, C., and Apostolaki, E. T.: Seagrass community metabolism: Assessing the carbon sink capacity of seagrass meadows, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 24, GB4032, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GB003793, 2010.
Erftemeijer, P. L. and Koch, E. W.: Sediment geology methods for seagrass habitat, in: Global seagrass research methods, edited by: Short, F. T. and Coles, R. G., 345–367, 2001.
Fourqurean, J. W., Marba, N., Duarte, C. M, Diaz-Almela, E., and Ruiz-Halpern, S.: Spatial and temporal variation in the elemental and stable isotopic content of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa from the Illes Balears, Spain, Mar. Biol., 151, 219–232, 2007.
Gacia, E., Granata, T. C., and Duarte, C. M.: An approach to measurement of particle flux and sediment retention within seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) meadows, Aquat. Bot., 65, 255–268, 1999.
Galy, V., France-Lanord, C., Beyssac, O., Faure, P., Kudrass, H., and Palhol, F.: Efficient organic carbon burial in the Bengal fan sustained by the Himalayan erosional system, Nature, 450, 407–410, 2007.
Galy, V., Beyssac, C., France-Lanord, C., and Eglinton, T.: Recycling of graphite during Himalayan erosion: a geological stabilization of carbon in the crust, Science, 322, 943–945, 2008.
Gami, S. K., Lauren, J. G., and Duxbury, J. M.: Influence of soil texture and cultivation on carbon and nitrogen levels in soils of the eastern Indo-Gangetic plains, Geoderma, 153, 304–311, 2009.
Hanson, C. E., Hyndes, G. A., and Fang Wang, S.: Differentiation of benthic marine primary produces using stable isotopes and fatty acids: implications to food web studies, Aquat. Bot., 93, 114–122, 2010.
Harrison, P. G.: Detrital processing in seagrass systems: A review of factors affecting decay rates, remineralization and detritivory, Aquat. Bot., 35, 263–288, 1989.
Hassink, J.: The capacity of soils to preserve organic C and N by their association with clay and silt particles, Plant Soil, 191, 77–87, 1997.
Hedges, J. I. and Keil R. G.: Sedimentary organic matter preservation: An assessment and speculative synthesis, Mar. Chem., 49, 81–115, 1995.
Hemminga, M. A. and Mateo, M. A.: Stable carbon isotopes in seagrasses: Variability in ratios and use in ecological studies, Mar. Ecol.-Prog. Ser., 140, 285–298, 1996.
Hendriks, I. E., Bouma T. J., Morris E. P., and Duarte C. M.: Effects of seagrasses and algae of the Caulerpa family on hydrodynamics and particle-trapping rates, Mar. Biol., 157, 473–481, 2010.
Henrichs, S. M.: Early diagenesis of organic matter in marine sediments: progress and perplexity, Mar. Chem., 39, 119–149, 1992.
Hindell, J., Jenkins, G., Connolly, R., and Hyndes, G. A.: Assessment of the Importance of Different Near-shore Marine Habitats to Important Fishery Species in Victoria Using Standardised Survey Methods, and in Temperate and Sub-tropical Australian Using Stable Isotope Analysis, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation and Primary Industries Research Victoria, 2004.
Hyndes, G. A. and Lavery, P. S.: Does transported seagrass provide an important trophic link in unvegetated, nearshore areas?, Estuar. Coast. Shelf S., 63, 633–643, 2005.
Hyndes, G. A., Nagelkerken, I., McLeod, R. J., Connolly, R. M., Lavery, P. S., and Vanderklift, M. A.: Mechanisms and ecological role of carbon transfer within coastal seascapes, Biol. Rev. Camb. Philos., 89, 232–254, 2014.
Jonsson, M. and Wardle, D. A.: Structural equation modelling reveals plant-community drivers of carbon storage in boreal forest ecosystems, Biol. Lett., https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0613, 2009.
Keil, R. and Hedges, J.: Sorption of organic matter to mineral surfaces and the preservation of organic matter in coastal marine sediments, Chem. Geol., 107, 385–388, 1993.
Keil, R. G., Montluçon, D. B., Prahl, F. G., and Hedges, J. I.: Sorptive preservation of labile organic matter in marine sediments, Nature, 370, 549–552, 1994.
Kennedy, H., Beggins, J., Duarte, C. M., Fourqurean, J. W., Holmer, M., Marba, N., and Middelburg, J.: Seagrass sediments as a global carbon sink: Isotopic constraints, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 24, 1–9, 2010.
Kilminster, K., McMahon, K., Waycott, M., Kendrick, G. A., Scanes, P., McKenzie, L., O'Brien, K. R., Lyons, M., Ferguson, A., Maxwell, P., Glasby, T., and Udy, J.: Unravelling complexity in seagrass systems for management: Australia as a microcosm, Sci. Total Environ., 534, 97–109, 2015.
Lavery, P. S., Mateo, M. A., Serrano, O., and Rozaimi, M.: Variability in the carbon storage of seagrass habitats and its implications for global estimates of blue carbon ecosystem service, PLoS One, 8, e73748, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0073748, 2013.
Mateo, M. A., Romero, J., Pérez, M., Littler, M. M., and Littler, D. S.: Dynamics of Millenary Organic Deposits Resulting from the Growth of the Mediterranean Seagrass Posidonia oceanica, Estuar. Coast. Shelf S., 44, 103–110, 1997.
Mayer, L. M.: Surface area control of organic carbon accumulation in continental shelf sediments, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 58, 1271–1284, 1994a.
Mayer, L. M.: Relationships between mineral surfaces and organic carbon concentrations in soils and sediments, Chem. Geol., 114, 347–363, 1994b.
Mayer, L. M. and Xing, B.: Organic matter-surface area relationships in acid soils, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 65, 250–258, 2001.
McGrath, D. and Zhang, C.: Spatial distribution of soil organic carbon concentrations in grassland of Ireland, Appl. Geochem., 18, 1629–1639, 2003.
Nellemann, C., Corcoran, E., Duarte, C., Valdés, L., DeYoung, C., Fonseca, L., and Grimsditch, G. (Eds): Blue carbon. A rapid response assessment, United Nations Environ, Program, GRID-Arendal, www.grida.no, last access: August 2015, 2009.
Nichols, J. D.: Relation of organic carbon to soil properties and climate in the Southern Great Plains, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 48, 1382–1384, 1984.
Ouyang, X. and Lee, S. Y.: Updated estimates of carbon accumulation rates in coastal marsh sediments, Biogeosciences, 11, 5057–5071, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-5057-2014, 2014.
Paling, E. I. and McComb, A. J.: Autumn biomass, below-ground productivity, rhizome growth at bed edge and nitrogen content in seagrasses from Western Australia, Aquat. Bot., 67, 207–219, 2000.
Passlow, V., Rogis, J., Hancock, A., Hemer, M., Glenn, K., and Habib, A.: Final Report, National Marine Sediments Database and Seafloor Characteristics Project, Geoscience Australia, Record 2005/08, 2005.
Pedersen, M. Ø., Serrano O., Mateo M. A., and Holmer M.: Decomposition of Posidonia oceanica matte in a climate change setting, Aquat. Microb. Ecol., 65, 169–182, 2011.
Pedrosa-Pàmies, R., Sanchez-Vidal, A., Calafat, A., Canals, M., and Durán, R.: Impact of storm-induced remobilization on grain size distribution and organic carbon content in sediments from the Blanes Canyon area, NW Mediterranean Sea, Prog. Oceanogr., 118, 122–136, 2013.
Peralta, G., Van Duren, L. A., Morris, E. P., and Bouma, T. J.: Consequences of shoot density and stiffness for ecosystem engineering by benthic marcrophytes in flow dominated areas: a hydrodynamic flume study, Mar. Ecol.-Prog. Ser., 368, 103–115, 2008.
Percival, H. J., Parfitt, R. L., and Scott, N. A.: Factors controlling soil carbon levels in New Zealand grasslands is clay content important?, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 64, 1623–1630, 1999.
Rainey, M. P., Tyler, A. N., Gilvear, D. J., Bryant, R. G., and McDonald, P.: Mapping intertidal estuarine sediment grain-size distributions through airbone remote sensing, Remote Sens. Environ., 86, 480–490, 2003.
Romero, J. and Pergent, G.: The detritic compartment in a Posidonia oceanica meadow litter features decomposition rates and mineral stocks, Mar. Ecol., 13, 69–83, 1992.
Rozaimi, M., Serrano, O., and Lavery, P. S.: Comparison of carbon stores by two morphologically different seagrasses, J. R. Soc. West. Aust., 96, 81–83, 2013.
Serrano, O., Mateo, M. A., Renom P., and Julià, R.: Characterization of soils beneath a Posidonia oceanica meadow, Geoderma, 185–186, 26–36, 2012.
Serrano, O., Lavery, P. S., Rozaimi, M., and Mateo, M. A.: Influence of water depth on the carbon sequestration capacity of seagrasses, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 301–314, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GB004872, 2014.
Serrano, O., Ricart, A. M., Lavery, P. S., Mateo, M. A., Arias-Ortiz, A., Masque, P., Rozaimi, M., Steven, A., and Duarte, C. M.: Key biogeochemical factors affecting soil carbon storage in Posidonia meadows, Biogeosciences, 13, 4581–4594, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4581-2016, 2016.
Serrano, O., Lavery, P. S., Duarte, C. M., Kendrick, G. A., Calafat, A., York, P., Stevens, A., and Macreadie, P.: Can mud (silt and clay) concentration be used to predict soil organic carbon content within seagrass ecosystems? [dataset], Edith Cowan University, https://doi.org/10.4225/75/56c55ab91d417, 2015.
Smit, A. J., Brearley, A., Hyndes, G. A., Lavery, P. S., and Walker D. I.: δ13C and δ15N analysis of a Posidonia sinuosa seagrass bed, Aquat. Bot., 84, 277–282, 2006.
Sparling, G. P.: Ratio of microbial biomass carbon to soil organic carbon as a sensitive indicator of changes in soil organic matter, Aust. J. Soil Res., 30, 195–207, 1992.
Watanabe, K. and Kuwae, T.: How organic carbon derived from multiple sources contributes to carbon sequestration processes in a shallow coastal system?, Glob. Change Biol., 21, 2612–2623, 2015.
Short summary
We explored the relationship between organic carbon and mud (i.e. silt and clay) contents in seagrass ecosystems to address whether mud can be used to predict soil C content, thereby enabling robust scaling up exercises at a low cost as part of blue carbon stock assessments. We show that mud is not a universal proxy for blue carbon content in seagrass ecosystems, but it can be used to estimate soil Corg content when low biomass seagrass species (i.e. Zostera, Halodule and Halophila) are present.
We explored the relationship between organic carbon and mud (i.e. silt and clay) contents in...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint