Articles | Volume 18, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1451-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1451-2021
Research article
 | 
25 Feb 2021
Research article |  | 25 Feb 2021

Bioturbation has a limited effect on phosphorus burial in salt marsh sediments

Sebastiaan J. van de Velde, Rebecca K. James, Ine Callebaut, Silvia Hidalgo-Martinez, and Filip J. R. Meysman

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Sedimentary and plant carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus measurements of Blakeney salt marsh ponds S. van de Velde, R. K. James, I. Callebaut, S. Hidalgo-Martinez, and F. J. R. Meysman https://doi.org/10.14284/419

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Short summary
Some 540 Myr ago, animal life evolved in the ocean. Previous research suggested that when these early animals started inhabiting the seafloor, they retained phosphorus in the seafloor, thereby limiting photosynthesis in the ocean. We studied salt marsh sediments with and without animals and found that their impact on phosphorus retention is limited, which implies that their impact on the global environment might have been less drastic than previously assumed.
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