Articles | Volume 18, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1451-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1451-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Bioturbation has a limited effect on phosphorus burial in salt marsh sediments
Sebastiaan J. van de Velde
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Bgeosys, Geoscience, Environment & Society, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
Operational Directorate Natural Environment, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
Rebecca K. James
Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
Ine Callebaut
Analytical, Environmental & Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
Silvia Hidalgo-Martinez
Department of Biology, Universiteit Antwerpen, Wilrijk, Belgium
Filip J. R. Meysman
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Biology, Universiteit Antwerpen, Wilrijk, Belgium
Department of Biotechnology, Technical University of Delft, Delft, the Netherlands
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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.
Some 540 Myr ago, animal life evolved in the ocean. Previous research suggested that when these...
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