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Advances in the aquatic sciences
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Carbon sequestration and its controlling factors in the temperate wetland communities along the Bohai Sea, China

S. Ye A B C , E. A. Laws D F , N. Yuknis A , X. Y. Yu A B C , X. Ding A B C , H. Yuan A B C , G. Zhao A B C , J. Wang A B C , S. Pei A B C and H. Brix E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Key Laboratory of Coastal Wetland Biogeosciences, Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology, China Geologic Survey, PO Box 266071, Qingdao, 266071, P.R. China.

B Laboratory for Marine Geology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, PO Box 266235, Qingdao, 266071, P.R. China.

C Key Laboratory of Marine Hydrocarbon Resources and Environmental Geology, Ministry of Land and Resources, PO Box 266071, Qingdao, 266071, P.R. China.

D Louisiana State University, College of the Coast & Environment, Department of Environmental Sciences, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-4110, USA.

E Aarhus University, Department of Bioscience, Plant Biology, Builing 1135, Ole Worms Allè 1, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.

F Corresponding author. Email: edlaws@lsu.edu

Marine and Freshwater Research 69(5) 700-713 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF17120
Submitted: 30 April 2017  Accepted: 7 September 2017   Published: 29 November 2017

Abstract

The carbon sequestration rate (CSR) in deltaic wetlands is associated with the nutrient balance, sediment (soil) accretion rate (SAR) and geological and climatic conditions. To explore the relationships between these factors, micronutrients; C, N, and P concentrations; and ages determined using either paleosols or radiometric dating with 210Pb were analysed from a total of 14 cores from the Yellow River delta (YRD) and Liaohe delta (LHD) wetlands, collected in 2007 and 2012 respectively. With the exception of Ca, concentrations of N, organic C, Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Mg, K, Al and H+ were significantly higher in the wetland soils of the LHD, but organic CSR was virtually identical at the two sites, ~140 g C m–2 year–1 at sites above mean sea level (MSL). SAR and organic CSR at LHD sites below MSL were ~2.8 times the corresponding rates at sites above MSL. SAR and total CSR were much higher in the YRD than LHD because of the much greater accumulation rate of CaCO3 in the YRD. Organic CSRs were primarily controlled by SAR in both deltaic wetland systems. However, organic CSRs were much more sensitive to changes in SARs in LHD wetlands than YRD wetlands.

Additional keywords: Liaohe delta, nutrients, soil accretion, Yellow River delta.


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