TY - JOUR
T1 - Seasonality of methane and carbon dioxide emissions in tropical seagrass and unvegetated ecosystems
AU - Saderne, Vincent
AU - Dunne, Aislinn Francesca
AU - Rich, Walter Ambrose
AU - Cadiz, Ronald
AU - Carvalho, Susana
AU - Cúrdia, Joao
AU - Kattan, Alexander
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the personnel and skippers of the Coastal and Marine Core Laboratory of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). We thank Vijayalashmi Dasari, Kaitlyn O’Toole, Darren Coker, and Ute Langner for their help in the field and the lab. This work was funded by the Baseline funds of Michael Berumen and the Academic Space, Equipment, and Planning Committee (ASEPC) at KAUST.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - Seagrass ecosystems are important carbon dioxide sinks that can sequester carbon for centuries as organic matter in sediment. They are also a major source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, which limits their carbon sink capacity. However, data are lacking on their methane emission dynamics. Here, we conduct a one-year survey of carbon dioxide and methane concentrations and air-sea fluxes in Red Sea seagrass, mudflat, and coral backreef ecosystems. All ecosystems were sources of methane and carbon dioxide. Methane concentrations were lowest in the reef lagoon. We suggest that lagoons may be a globally important source of greenhouse gases. Methane concentrations were lower in seagrass than mudflat ecosystems at temperatures below 29.2 °C. Seagrass had the highest annual methane air-sea fluxes but the lowest global warming potential in carbon dioxide equivalent due to a decrease in its flux. Hence, seagrasses can help climate change mitigation compared to bare sediments.
AB - Seagrass ecosystems are important carbon dioxide sinks that can sequester carbon for centuries as organic matter in sediment. They are also a major source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, which limits their carbon sink capacity. However, data are lacking on their methane emission dynamics. Here, we conduct a one-year survey of carbon dioxide and methane concentrations and air-sea fluxes in Red Sea seagrass, mudflat, and coral backreef ecosystems. All ecosystems were sources of methane and carbon dioxide. Methane concentrations were lowest in the reef lagoon. We suggest that lagoons may be a globally important source of greenhouse gases. Methane concentrations were lower in seagrass than mudflat ecosystems at temperatures below 29.2 °C. Seagrass had the highest annual methane air-sea fluxes but the lowest global warming potential in carbon dioxide equivalent due to a decrease in its flux. Hence, seagrasses can help climate change mitigation compared to bare sediments.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85152553116&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s43247-023-00759-9
DO - 10.1038/s43247-023-00759-9
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85152553116
SN - 2662-4435
VL - 4
JO - Communications Earth and Environment
JF - Communications Earth and Environment
IS - 1
M1 - 99
ER -
