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Article << Previous     |     Next >>   Contents Vol 63(11)

Carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus storage in subtropical seagrass meadows: examples from Florida Bay and Shark Bay

James W. Fourqurean A F, Gary A. Kendrick B, Laurel S. Collins C, Randolph M. Chambers D and Mathew A. Vanderklift E

A Department of Biological Sciences and Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, 3000 NE 151st St., North Miami, FL 33181 USA.
B Oceans Institute and School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, Australia.
C Department of Earth and the Environment and Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA.
D Keck Environmental Laboratory, College of William and Mary, Wake Drive, Williamsburg, VA 23187, USA.
E CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship, Wembley, Western Australia, Australia.
F Corresponding author. Email: jim.fourqurean@fiu.edu

Marine and Freshwater Research 63(11) 967-983 http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/MF12101
Submitted: 14 April 2012  Accepted: 24 July 2012   Published: 26 November 2012
 
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Abstract

Seagrass meadows in Florida Bay and Shark Bay contain substantial stores of both organic carbon and nutrients. Soils from both systems are predominantly calcium carbonate, with an average of 82.1% CaCO3 in Florida Bay compared with 71.3% in Shark Bay. Soils from Shark Bay had, on average, 21% higher organic carbon content and 35% higher phosphorus content than Florida Bay. Further, soils from Shark Bay had lower mean dry bulk density (0.78 ± 0.01 g mL–1) than those from Florida Bay (0.84 ± 0.02 mg mL–1). The most hypersaline regions of both bays had higher organic carbon content in surficial soils. Profiles of organic carbon and phosphorus from Florida Bay indicate that this system has experienced an increase in P delivery and primary productivity over the last century; in contrast, decreasing organic carbon and phosphorus with depth in the soil profiles in Shark Bay point to a decrease in phosphorus delivery and primary productivity over the last 1000 y. The total ecosystem stocks of stored organic C in Florida Bay averages 163.5 MgCorg ha–1, lower than the average of 243.0 MgCorg ha–1 for Shark Bay; but these values place Shark and Florida Bays among the global hotspots for organic C storage in coastal ecosystems.



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