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Analysis of upwelling radiation (spectral reflectance) by remote sensing may provide valuable information on the nature and distribution of the primary producers, the microphytobenthos, on intertidal mudflat systems. Spatial and temporal variation in the spectral reflectance signal (400-900 nm) from the surface of an exposed intertidal mudflat was investigated in relation to the density and vertical position of microphytobenthos assemblages within the sediment. Spatial measurements were obtained from areas of sediment colonized by different assemblages of microphytobenthos (mainly mixtures of diatoms and euglenids). In addition, a station was selected to examine temporal changes in spectral reflectance (corrected for variations in ambient light) over an exposure period. It was shown that the spectral reflectance signal varied, depending on the pigment compliment and biomass of the surface assemblages of microphytobenthos. The qualitative variation in composition of the assemblages visualized by low-temperature scanning electron microscopy was confirmed by analysis of species composition (light microscopy) and by pigment fingerprinting (diode array high-performance liquid chromatography [HPLC]). Time-series analysis showed that the migration of cells to the surface of the sediment during a daytime emersion period rapidly changed the optical properties of the sediment surface. Analysis of sediment pigment content was conducted using standard surface scrapes (0.5-cm depth) and a high resolution sectioning technique (200-µm layers). The migration influence was only detected by fine-scale analysis of pigments. This was demonstrated by a step-wise elimination analysis, which showed that correlations between the absorbance characteristics of the sediment and pigment content improved as premigration data were excluded. Maximum light penetration into the natural sediment was of the order of 2 mm under light conditions comparable with ambient levels. Two main conclusions were drawn from this study:(1) interpretation of spectral reflectance data must be consistent with knowledge of the ecology and behavior (cyclic migration patterns) of intertidal microphytobenthos, and (2) ground truthing of pigment-related signals from intertidal flats should be conducted on a scale relevant to the process of spectral reflectance from sediments. The implications of these findings are discussed.

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Microalgal biostabilisation of cohesive sediments via the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) has been well documented in intertidal ecosystems and represents a key ecosystem service with respect to the regulation of sediment transport. However, recent ecosystem comparison studies have uncovered a paradox in which sediment stability is commonly observed to be lower in freshwater ecosystems (compared with estuarine ecosystems) even though sediment EPS concentrations and microalgal biomass are high. Using a combination of freshwater and estuarine field and mesocosm techniques, the relative and interactive roles of salinity and the production of EPS (carbohydrate concentration) by benthic microalgae in the mediation of sediment stability in the Eden River catchment (river, mudflat and saltmarsh) were assessed. Sediment stability apparently increased with salinity from river (42.43 N m–2 surface stagnation pressure; salinity 0) to mudflat (98.65 N m–2; salinity 25) to saltmarsh (135.48 N m–2; salinity 46). The opposite trend was observed in sediment chlorophyll a and carbohydrate concentrations, indicating that salinity is the main variable driving sediment stability across the ecosystems under moderate EPS concentrations. Observations from mesocosm experiments highlighted the individual and combined importance of salinity and EPS in biostabilisation, with the largest increase in sediment stability observed following combined additions (25-fold increase compared with the control). The biogeochemical processes responsible, and their role in buffering phosphorus transport across the freshwater–saltwater transitional zone, are discussed.