Organic carbon sequestration and storage in vegetated coastal habitats along the western coast of the Arabian Gulf

Cusack, Michael; Saderne, Vincent; Arias‐Ortiz, Ariane; Masqué, Pere; Krishnakumar, P K; Qurban, Mohammad A.; Qasem, Ali; Prihartato, Perdana K.; Loughland, Ronald A.; Alaa, Elyas; Duarte, Carlos M.

doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aac899

Cited by 57 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Accumulation rates of P and N (g m −2 yr −1 ±SE) for long-term ( 14 C dating) and periods 1850-1930, 1930-1980and Modern (1980 from 210 Pb for Red Sea mangrove habitats, and Arabian Gulf seagrass, mangrove and saltmarsh habitats. The 210 Pb and 14 C sediment accretion rates used for calculations are from Cusack et al (2018) and Saderne et al (2018). seagrass sediments, this represents the equivalent of 8200 m 3 and 102 000 m 3 of Red Sea surface waters for N and P, respectively, which highlights the role of vegetated coastal ecosystems as massive sinks and reservoirs for nutrients in the oligotrophic Red Sea.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At each site, cores were sampled within 1-10 km 2 . The sediment cores in the present study are the same as those described in Cusack et al (2018) and Saderne et al (2018).…”

Section: Sediment Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In each core, the nutrient stocks in g m −2 integrated over the top 20 cm was estimated by building a continuous depth profile of N and P content by linear interpolation. The nutrient accumulation rates (mg m −2 yr −1 ) were calculated by multiplying the nutrient content by the sediment accumulation rates (mass m −2 yr −1 ) derived from 14 C and 210 Pb age-depth models (where successfully measured) and published in Cusack et al (2018) and Saderne et al (2018) for the same cores used in this study. The changes in accumulation rates of N and P were calculated for different periods by averaging the burial rates across each habitat type for the periods provided by 210 Pb dating.…”

Section: Sediment Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, we assess N and P stocks and accumulation rates in the sediments of seagrass meadows and mangroves along the Saudi coast in the Red Sea, as well as in those of seagrasses, mangroves and saltmarshes along the Saudi coast in the Gulf. We measured the N and P stocks in 0.2 m sediment cores, and, calculated the short-and long-term accumulation rates using the 210 Pb and 14 C sediment accretion rates reported for the same cores by Cusack et al (2018) and Saderne et al (2018). We use the changes in accumulation rates to hypothesize on changes in ecosystem functioning in the coastal ecosystems over the past millennia to centuries.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sediment stocks of N and P (g m −2 ) to 0.2 m sediment depth, and short-term sediment accretion and N and P accumulation rates as determined by 210 Pb analysis, and long-term accumulation rates as determined by 14 C fromCusack et al (2018) andSaderne et al (2018). Values are mean±SE of each site.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Role of vegetated coastal ecosystems as nitrogen and phosphorous filters and sinks in the coasts of Saudi Arabia

Saderne

Cusack

Serrano

et al. 2020

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Vegetated coastal ecosystems along the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf coasts of Saudi Arabia thrive in an extremely arid and oligotrophic environment, with high seawater temperatures and salinity. Mangrove, seagrass and saltmarsh ecosystems have been shown to act as efficient sinks of sediment organic carbon, earning these vegetated ecosystems the moniker 'blue carbon' ecosystems. However, their role as nitrogen and phosphorus (N and P) sinks remains poorly understood. In this study, we examine the capacity of blue carbon ecosystems to trap and store nitrogen and phosphorous in their sediments in the central Red Sea and Arabian Gulf. We estimated the N and P stocks (in 0.2 m thicksediments) and accumulation rates (for the last century based on 210 Pb and for the last millennia based on 14 C) in mangrove, seagrass and saltmarsh sediments from eight locations along the coast of Saudi Arabia (81 cores in total). The N and P stocks contained in the top 20 cm sediments ranged from 61 g N m −2 in Red Sea seagrass to 265 g N m −2 in the Gulf saltmarshes and from 70 g P m −2 in Red Sea seagrass meadows and mangroves to 58 g P m −2 in the Gulf saltmarshes. The short-term N and P accumulation rates ranged from 0.09 mg N cm −2 yr −1 in Red Sea seagrass to 0.38 mg N cm −2 yr −1 in Gulf mangrove, and from 0.027 mg P cm −2 yr −1 in the Gulf seagrass to 0.092 mg P cm −2 yr −1 in Red Sea mangroves. Short-term N and P accumulation rates were up to 10-fold higher than long-term accumulation rates, highlighting increasing sequestration of N and P over the past century, likely due to anthropogenic activities such as coastal development and wastewater inputs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At each site, cores were sampled within 1-10 km 2 . The sediment cores in the present study are the same as those described in Cusack et al (2018) and Saderne et al (2018).…”

Section: Sediment Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%