Journal of Ecology 2015, 103, 296–302 doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.

12370

Impact of seagrass loss and subsequent revegetation

on carbon sequestration and stocks
1*, Ariane Arias-Ortiz2, Pere Masque

ria Marba
Nu
2,3,4, Gary A. Kendrick5,6, Ine

s Mazarrasa1,
Geoff R. Bastyan6, Jordi Garcia-Orellana2 and Carlos M. Duarte1,5,6
1
Department of Global Change Research IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB) Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avancß ats, Miquel
Marque s 21, 07190 Esporles, Spain; 2Departament de Fısica – Institut de Cie
 ncia i Tecnologia Ambientals Universitat
 noma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain; 3Oceans Institute and School of Physics The University
Auto
of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia; 4School of Natural Sciences and Centre for
Marine Ecosystems Research Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia; 5The University of Western Australia
Oceans Institute University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia; and 6School of
Plant Biology University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia

Summary
1. Seagrass meadows are sites of high rates of carbon sequestration and they potentially support
‘blue carbon’ strategies to mitigate anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Current uncertainties on the fate
of carbon stocks following the loss or revegetation of seagrass meadows prevent the deployment of
‘blue carbon’ strategies.
2. Here, we reconstruct the trajectories of carbon stocks associated with one of the longest moni-
tored seagrass restoration projects globally. We demonstrate that sediment carbon stocks erode fol-
lowing seagrass loss and that revegetation projects effectively restore seagrass carbon sequestration
capacity. We combine carbon chronosequences with 210Pb dating of seagrass sediments in a mea-
dow that experienced losses until the end of 1980s and subsequent serial revegetation efforts.
3. Inventories of excess 210Pb in seagrass sediments revealed that its accumulation, and thus sedi-
ments, coincided with the presence of seagrass vegetation. They also showed that the upper sedi-
ments eroded in areas that remained devoid of vegetation after seagrass loss. Seagrass revegetation
enhanced autochthonous and allochthonous carbon deposition and burial. Carbon burial rates
increased with the age of the restored sites, and 18 years after planting, they were similar to that in
continuously vegetated meadows (26.4
0.8 gCorg m2 year1).
4. Synthesis. The results presented here demonstrate that loss of seagrass triggers the erosion of his-
toric carbon deposits and that revegetation effectively restores seagrass carbon sequestration capac-
ity. Thus, conservation and restoration of seagrass meadows are effective strategies for climate
change mitigation.
Key-words: aquatic plant ecology, blue carbon, burial, carbon sink, climate change mitigation,
erosion, Oyster Harbour, Posidonia australis, restoration

mitigate climate change (Nellemann et al. 2009; McLeod

Introduction
Seagrass meadows are globally significant carbon sinks
(Duarte, Middelburg & Caraco 2005; McLeod et al. 2011)
and support persistent carbon stocks (Fourqurean et al. 2012),
but their value in capture and storage of carbon is threatened
by high global loss rates (net loss rates at 0.9% year1, Way-
cott et al. 2009). This has led to growing interest in the con-
servation of seagrass meadows as a pathway to mitigate CO2
emissions and has resulted in the ‘blue carbon’ strategies to
*Correspondence author. E-mail: nmarba@imedea.uib-csic.es
et al. 2011; Duarte et al. 2013a,b). In the process of develop-
ing ‘blue carbon’ strategies, two unresolved yet key uncer-
tainties have been uncovered. First, whereas it is evident that
the capacity for shallow coastal sediments to act as sinks for
carbon is lost with seagrass loss, the fate of the carbon stocks
in the resulting bare sediments is a matter of speculation
(Fourqurean et al. 2012; Pendleton et al. 2012). Secondly,
restoration projects have the potential to restore carbon
sequestration capacity and protect sediment carbon stocks of
seagrass meadows, but this premise is based on models
(Duarte, Sintes & Marba 2013c) supported to date by a single

© 2015 The Authors. Journal of Ecology © 2015 British Ecological Society


piece of evidence (Greiner et al. 2013). The consequences of
habitat loss for the fate of sediment carbon stocks have been
assessed for mangroves (Lovelock, Ruess & Feller 2011; Si-
dik & Lovelock 2013; Kauffman et al. 2014), but designing
similarly robust tests for seagrass meadows has proved chal-
lenging (Duarte et al. 2013b).
Here, we demonstrate that loss of seagrass meadows causes
erosion of the sediment carbon stock and that seagrass resto-
ration projects preserve sediment carbon deposits and restore
the carbon sink capacity of the seagrass ecosystem. This dem-
onstration is based on detailed reconstructions of the decadal
trajectory of carbon stocks, combining carbon chronosequenc-
es with 210Pb dating of seagrass sediments in meadows (Oys-
ter Harbour, SW Australia) that experienced losses until the
end of 1980s but have had subsequent increases in seagrass
cover through serial revegetation efforts.
Materials and methods
This study was conducted at Oyster Harbour (Western Australia; Fig.
S1 in Supporting Information), which is a 16 km2 shallow (average
depth 1–2 m) coastal inlet colonized by luxuriant seagrass (Posidonia
australis) meadows until the early 1960s. Between mid-1960s and
1988, about 80% of seagrass cover was lost (Hillman et al. 1990)
due to elevated nutrient inputs and silt discharges into the inlet during
periods of heavy rain associated with land clearing and application of
fertilizers for agriculture over much of Oyster Harbour’s catchment
(Cambridge, Bastyan & Walker 2002). A seagrass (P. australis)
planting project was initiated in November 1994 and finished in Janu-
ary 2006, encompassing a total of 5 planting events (Table S1 in Sup-
porting Information).
In March 2012, we collected 3-replicated sediment cores (9 cm
diameter and 12–15 cm long) per restored site along the planting
chronosequence (i.e. years 1994, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2006). Similarly,
we collected three sediment cores in two bare sites, previously colo-
nized by seagrasses, and in a large seagrass patch that survived the
disturbances in the second half of the 20th century that we considered
a mature and thus reference meadow. We measured sediment bulk
density and organic matter content and pools along all sediment cores
sliced at 1-cm interval. Organic carbon content was estimated from
loss of ignition (LOI) at 550 °C for 5 h using an empirically fitted
equation for Oyster Harbour sediments (see Fig. S2 in Supporting
Information).
We analysed the d13C of the organic carbon in the top 3 cm sedi-
ment layer (d13Csediment) along the chronosequence to estimate the
fraction of seagrass (X) and sestonic (1–X) deposition as
d13 Csediment ¼ ½Xd13 Cseagrass  þ ½ð1  XÞd13 Cseston 
being d13Cseagrass 9.65& and d13Cseston 22& (Dauby 1989).
We determined the profiles of 210Pb concentrations of sediment
cores harvested in the continuously vegetated meadow, one bare site
and from sites that were revegetated in 1994 and 2004. Concentra-
tions of 210Pb were determined through the analysis of its decay prod-
uct 210Po, in equilibrium with 210Pb (Sanchez-Cabeza, Masqu
e &
Ani-Ragolta 1998). Sediment samples were spiked with known
amounts of 209Po and acid digested using a microwave oven. The Po
isotopes were plated onto silver discs and their emissions were mea-
sured by alpha spectrometry using Passivated Implanted Planar Sili-
con (PIPS) detectors (CANBERRA, Mod. PD-450.18 A.M). The
concentrations of 210Pb at sampling time were calculated applying
© 2015 The Authors. Journal of Ecology © 2015 British Ecological Society, Journal of Ecology, 103, 296–302
Seagrass loss, revegetation and carbon sequestration 297
appropriate decay–ingrowth corrections (i.e. 210Po decay during
counting, 210Po decay between plating and counting and 210Pb decay
between sampling and analyses) and accounting for blank (for each
batch of 10 samples) and detector background, which were both
almost negligible (1–2105 cs1). Analyses of replicates and refer-
ence materials were carried out in parallel to the analyses of the sam-
ples to ensure reproducibility of the results. Concentrations of 226Ra
were determined by gamma spectrometry using a high-purity Ge
well-type detector (CANBERRA, mod. GCW3523). Samples were
stored in sealed containers for 3 weeks prior to counting to attain
equilibrium between 226Ra and its shot-lived decay products. 226Ra
was determined through the 295 and 351 keV emission lines of
214
Pb. The concentrations of 226Ra were in agreement with those of
210
Pb in the deepest sections of the cores, where no excess 210Pb
(210Pbex) was present. All sediment cores had similar concentrations
of supported 210Pb (i.e. in equilibrium with 226Ra;
1
210
Pbsup = 8.7
0.4 Bqkg ). Concentrations of 210Pbex were
obtained by subtracting the 210Pbsup from the total 210Pb at each sec-
tion. We used the model of constant rate of supply (CRS; Appleby &
Oldfield 1978), which assumes a constant flux of 210Pbex to the sedi-
ment surface, to date the sediment based on 210Pbex inventories and
estimate sediment accretion rates in the cores. The CRS model was
adapted for those sites with missing inventories of 210Pbex (i.e. reveg-
etated in 1994 and 2004, unvegetated) following Appleby (2001).
Sediment accretion rates measured in the cores allowed estimation of
the thickness of the carbon stock accumulated in restored sites since
planting. During sediment coring, the sediment samples were verti-
cally compressed by 36.5% (i.e. 100 cm of original sediment thick-
ness resulted in sediment cores 63.5 cm long) due to the low bulk
density. We provide the values measured in the cores and, when indi-
cated (i.e. carbon density, sediment accretion rate), estimated by
assuming linear sediment compression during sampling.
Results
The concentration and density of Corg measured in the sedi-
ments at Oyster Harbour ranged between 1.6% DW and
16.9% DW and 0.01 g Corg cm3 and 0.06 g Corg cm3 (i.e.
0.01 g Corg cm3 and 0.04 g Corg cm3 after correcting for
sediment compression), respectively. Corg concentration and
density varied with sediment depth and tended to increase
from unvegetated to restored sites and the continuously vege-
tated meadow (Figs 1 and 2). On average, Corg concentration
and density in the upper 12 cm of sediments in the reference
meadow were, respectively, 63% and 37% higher than those
in unvegetated sediments and restored meadows. Differences
in concentration and density of Corg across sites were more
pronounced in surface sediments (top 3 cm), both parameters
significantly increasing along the planting chronosequence
(regression analysis, P < 0.0001). Corg density in the top
3 cm sediment layer of the earliest replanted site (planted in
1994) was 79% of that in the continuously vegetated mea-
dow. Seagrass tissues (with epiphytes) and seston particles
were the main sources of sediment Corg at Oyster Harbour.
The proportion of seston in the surface sediment Corg pool
varied from 0.12 in the bare sites to 0.30 in the continuously
vegetated meadow (Fig. 3). The sestonic contribution to sedi-
ment Corg increased with increasing time after the sediments
were revegetated, but this relationship was not significant
(regression analysis, P > 0.05).
298 N. Marba et al.

Sediment Corg concentration (% DW)

0 4 8 12 0 4 8 12 0 4 8 12 0 4 8 12
0

–2

–4

–6

–8

–10

–12
Sediment depth (cm)

–14
Revegetated Revegetated
Unvegetated 1 Unvegetated 2 in 2006 in 2004
–16
0 4 8 12 0 4 8 12 0 4 8 12 0 4 8 12
0

–2

–4

–6

–8

–10

–12

–14 Revegetated Revegetated Revegetated Continuously

in 2003 in1997 in 1994 vegetated
–16

Fig. 1. Measured sediment profiles of Corg concentration (%DW) where seagrasses were lost, in revegetated plots and the continuously vegetated
meadow at Oyster Harbour. The data shown are not corrected for (35%) sediment compression during coring. Error bars show the standard error
of the mean (n = 3). Error bars not available when n = 1.

The 210Pbex concentrations in seagrass sediments declined
below the upper layer of mixed sediments (2–3 cm) until the
horizon of supported 210Pb, reached at about 7–9 cm depth
(or 5–6 gcm2) (Fig. 4a). In contrast, unvegetated sediments
had 210Pbex only in the uppermost 2 cm (Fig. 4a). The differ-
ences in the 210Pbex concentration profiles between the contin-
uously vegetated meadow, restored sites and unvegetated
sediments translated into significant disparities in the accumu-
lated 210Pbex (i.e. 210Pbex inventories, in Bqm2, Fig. 4b).
The sediment in the continuously vegetated meadow had the
largest 210Pbex inventory (Io = 800
28 Bqm2), corre-
sponding to an annual flux (Fo) of 210Pbex of
25
1 Bqm2year1 (calculated as Fo = kIo, where k is
the decay constant of 210Pb: 0.03118 year1). The 210Pbex
inventories at the revegetated sites were smaller than in sedi-
ments from the continuously vegetated meadow, while unveg-
etated sediments were even more significantly depleted in
210
Pbex. The difference in 210Pbex inventories in sediments
revegetated in 1994 and 2004 (159
43 Bqm2) compares
extremely well to the actual amount of 210Pb (i.e 166

6 Bqm2) expected to accumulate from 1994 to 2004, after
correction for decay during the 10-year period and to sam-
pling time. Similarly, the time when seagrasses in restored
sites were lost can be calculated from the 210Pbex inventories
in sediments using:
If ¼ I0  e  k  t
where If and Io are the measured and expected inventories,
respectively. This reveals that seagrass meadows at the studied
sites were lost 28
3 years before our collection of samples.
However, the missing inventory of 210Pbex in unvegetated sedi-
ments was much larger than expected by decay of 210Pb during
the last decades. Considering that the seagrass meadows at the
three sites where vegetation was lost disappeared approxi-
mately in the early 1980s, and that no 210Pbex accumulation
occurred in the absence of seagrass cover, the 210Pbex inventory

© 2015 The Authors. Journal of Ecology © 2015 British Ecological Society, Journal of Ecology, 103, 296–302
 Seagrass loss, revegetation and carbon sequestration 299

Sediment Corg density (g C cm–3)

0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
0

–2

–4

–6

–8

–10

–12
Sediment depth (cm)

–14
Revegetated Revegetated
Unvegetated 1 Unvegetated 2
in 2006 in 2004
–16
0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
0

–2

–4

–6

–8

–10

–12

–14
Revegetated Revegetated Revegetated Continuously
in 2003 in 1997 in 1994 vegetated
–16

Fig. 2. Measured sediment profiles of Corg density (gC cm3) where seagrasses were lost in the revegetated plots and the continuously vegetated
meadow at Oyster Harbour. The data shown are not corrected for (35%) sediment compression during coring. Error bars show the standard error
of the mean value (n = 3). Error bars not available when n = 1.

in the unvegetated site should have been of 340
12 Bqm2,
whereas only 75
11 Bqm2 remained. The lack of 210Pb
accumulation in unvegetated sediments since vegetation loss
can account for about 65% of the missing inventory of 210Pbex,
but the other 35% must have been lost through sediment ero-
sion.
Mean mass accumulation rates (MAR) and sediment accu-
mulation rates (SAR) estimated by applying the CRS model
adapted when necessary to those sites with missing invento-
ries of 210Pb (and, thus, representing MAR and SAR when
sediments were vegetated) were similar for all sites (MAR =
400
20 g m2 year1, SARmeasured = 0.066
0.003 cm
year1, SARestimated = 0.103
0.008 cm year1).
The sediment Corg stock developed since seagrass planting
increased with the age of the restored sites at an average rate
of 28.2
1.4 g Corg m2 year1 (Fig. 5a). Corg burial rates
increased substantially over the first 2 decades after planting,
increasing from 16.2
2.4 Corg m2 year1 in sites restored
© 2015 The Authors. Journal of Ecology © 2015 British Ecological Society, Journal of Ecology, 103, 296–302
for 6 years to 25.2
4.7 Corg m2 year1 in sites restored
for 18 years (Fig. 5b). The fitted equation between Corg burial
rate and the age of revegetated plots indicated that restored
sites reach a similar Corg burial rate as that in the continu-
ously vegetated meadow (26.4
0.8 Corg m2 year1,
Fig. 5b) 18 years after restoration.
Discussion
Our results demonstrate that seagrass vegetation enhances car-
bon burial and preserves sediment carbon stocks and that
revegetation projects effectively restore seagrass carbon
sequestration within short, manageable time-scales.
The sediments at Oyster Harbour were relatively Corg-rich
when compared with global estimates in seagrass sediments
(Fourqurean et al. 2012). However, the rate of Corg burial in
the reference meadow from Oyster Harbour (Fig. 5b) was 1/3
slower than average seagrass burial rates previously reported
300 N. Marba et al.

210Pb concentration (Bq kg–1)

Sestonic fraction of sediment

0.3 0 10 20 30 40 50
(a) 0

unveg. site 2004 1994 reveg.

reveg.
Corgstock

0.2 –2 plot
plot

–4

Sediment depth (cm)

0.1 Continuously vegetated

–6

0
–5 0 5 10 15 20 –8
Time since planting (year)

–10
Fig. 3. Variability of sestonic fraction of the organic carbon stored in
the top 3 cm of seagrass sediments across time since planting. Data
from the top 3 cm sediment samples of one sediment core per site are –12
provided. Error bars indicate standard error of the mean (n = 3). The
horizontal line and grey area, respectively, indicate the average and 210
Pb sup
95% confidence limit of sestonic fraction of sediment Corg stock in –14
the continuously vegetated site. (b)
1000

for natural meadows (Duarte, Middelburg & Caraco 2005;

inventory (Bq m–2)

800
Kennedy et al. 2010). The low Corg burial by seagrasses at
Oyster Harbour is most probably due to the slow sediment
600
accretion rate in these meadows, about half of that reported
for seagrass meadows globally (0.20 cm year1, assessed
400
using 14C dating and surface elevation table data; Duarte
ex

et al. 2013b).
210Pb

Seagrass revegetation at Oyster Harbour has recovered car-
bon sequestration capacity (per unit of area) within two dec-
ades (Fig. 5b). Our results support the only other study
available, that of Greiner et al. (2013) on Zostera marina
meadows in the Virginia coastal bays, USA. In Virginia bays,
Corg burial accelerated 5 years after eelgrass planting, reached
rates of 36.7 gC m2 year1 after 10 years, and the authors
estimated that burial rates in restored seagrasses would equal
those of natural meadows 12 years after planting. The time-
scales of recovery of seagrass carbon sinks by restoration pro-
grammes are similar to those reported for mangroves
(~20 years; Osland et al. 2012) and can be longer than for
saltmarshes (1 to >28 years; Craft et al. 2003).
The increase of carbon burial rate in seagrass restored sites
younger than 2 decades partially reflects the effects of sea-
grass vegetation on trapping of particles from the water col-
umn (Fig. 3; Hendriks et al. 2007) and thus the important
role of seagrass revegetation for allochthonous carbon seques-
tration (Kennedy et al. 2010). Our results confirm that sea-
grass revegetation through restoration additionally restores the
capacity of coastal areas to bury allochthonous carbon within
18 years, when sestonic inputs already accounted for 27% of
sediment Corg (Fig. 1).
The flux of annual 210Pbex measured in the continuously
vegetated meadow is in agreement with reported atmospheric
fluxes of 210Pb in Western Australia (Preiss, M
elieres & Pour-
chet 1996). This supports the hypothesis that sediments in the
continuously vegetated site efficiently accumulate 210Pbex. As
a further verification of our interpretation of the 210Pbex
© 2015 The Authors. Journal of Ecology © 2015 British Ecological Society, Journal of Ecology, 103, 296–302
200
0
Continuously 1994 2004 Unvegetated
vegetated revegetated revegetated site
plot plot
Fig. 4. Measured depth profiles of 210Pb concentration (a) and inven-
tory of excess 210Pb (210Pbex) (b) in sediments continuously vege-
tated, revegetated in 1994 and 2004 and unvegetated. Error bars
indicate the standard error. The grey area indicates the concentration
of supported 210Pb (210Pbsup). The data shown are not corrected for
(35%) sediment compression during coring.
inventories, we calculated the time when seagrasses were lost
(and planted) by comparing observed and estimated (i.e.
assuming continuous deposition) 210Pbex inventories in
restored sites. This exercise revealed that vegetation was lost
around 1984, in very close agreement with the reported exten-
sive seagrass loss in the 1980s at Oyster Harbour Bay (Bast-
yan & Cambridge 2008). This analysis of the 210Pbex
inventories and our results highlight the potential that the
210
Pb dating technique has in ecological studies beyond esti-
mation of sediment accretion rates.
Our results of sediment dating and carbon density reveal
that the sediment Corg stock preserved since ~1890 in Oyster
Harbour restored sites was 2770
117 g Corg m2. The Corg
stock in revegetated sites represented about 80% of that in the
continuously vegetated meadow, but it was 3.6-fold higher
than that in unvegetated sediments (Fig. 6). The reconstructed
trajectory of sediment Corg stock accumulated in restored sites

(a) 600
500
Corg stock since planting
400
(gC m–2)
300
200
100
0
0 5 10 15
(b) 35
30
25
Corg burial rate
(gC m–2 yr–1)
20
15
10
5
0 etated and unvegetated sites is indicated. The year when the revegeta-
0 5 10 15
Time since planting (year)
Fig. 5. Chronosequences of carbon stock accumulated (a) and carbon
burial rate (b) across the revegetated plots at Oyster Harbour. The
continuous line in panel A shows the fitted equation:
y = 64.02 + 28.19 x, SEslope = 1.36; R2 = 0.99, P < 0.0005. The
continuous line in panel B shows the fitted equation: y = 28.70 –
(69.01/x); SEslope = 14.24; R2 = 0.85; P < 0.05. The horizontal line
and grey area in panel B indicate, respectively, the average and 95%
confidence limit of carbon burial rate in the continuously vegetated
site. Error bars indicate the standard error.
paralleled that in the continuously vegetated meadow between
the end of 19th century and the 1970s (Fig. 6). The trajecto-
ries of Corg stocks in restored sites and the continuously vege-
tated meadow tended to diverge after the 1980s (Fig. 6). Due
to the erosion of sediments in unvegetated sites, the Corg stock
preserved there was similar to that observed until the 1920s in
restored sites (Fig. 6). Because seagrass loss occurred in the
mid-1980s, the deficit of Corg stock in unvegetated and
restored sites relative to the continuously vegetated site pro-
vides evidence of the erosion of carbon deposits accumulated
prior to seagrass decline while sediments remained devoid of
vegetation (i.e. about 38 years for unvegetated and 10–
20 years for restored sites). The accumulated deficit in Corg
stock in unvegetated sediments can be separated into losses
due to erosion of about 1500 g Corg m2, which is equivalent
to 60 years of carbon deposition, and the lack of carbon
sequestration between the mid-1980s and the time of sampling
(~850 g Corg m2). In contrast, seagrass revegetation quickly
restored the capacity of the ecosystem to store Corg, and on
average, 252
38 g Corg m2 accumulated in the sediments
of restored sites. Hence, this study provides the first quantita-
tive evidence that the loss of seagrass vegetation leads to
© 2015 The Authors. Journal of Ecology © 2015 British Ecological Society, Journal of Ecology, 103, 296–302
Seagrass loss, revegetation and carbon sequestration 301
4000
Accumulated sediment Corg stock (gC m–2)
Continuously
vegetated
3000
Revegetated
2000
Onset
Seagrass loss
restoration
20
1000
Unvegetated
0
1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020
Time (year)
Fig. 6. Reconstructed trajectories of carbon stock accumulated in
continuously vegetated (black line), restored (dark grey line) and un-
vegetated (light grey line) sediments at Oyster Harbour since year
1890. The trajectories are reconstructed using 210Pb sediment dating.
The year when it is estimated the loss of seagrass vegetation in reveg-
20 tion programme was initiated is also indicated. Solid and dashed
lines, respectively, show the time period while sediments remained
vegetated and unvegetated. Error bars indicate the standard error.
significant erosion of sediment carbon stocks, as the unvege-
tated site lost 90 years of carbon accumulation (i.e. 60 years
of deposition were eroded and 30 years missed carbon seques-
tration). This supports previous speculations that carbon stocks
may be removed through erosion following the loss of seag-
rasses (Fourqurean et al. 2012; Pendleton et al. 2012). These
results, therefore, contribute to dispel uncertainties on the fate
of carbon stocks following seagrass losses, thereby reinforcing
the merit of ‘blue carbon’ strategies focused on seagrass con-
servation and restoration to mitigate climate change.
The results presented here substantiate the argument that
accelerating losses of seagrass vegetation world-wide since
the 1980s (Waycott et al. 2009) must have led to an impor-
tant loss of carbon sink capacity and carbon stored in seagrass
sediments (McLeod et al. 2011; Duarte et al. 2013b). How-
ever, these losses also imply that there are vast potential areas
available for seagrass restoration programmes, which can help
rebuild the lost carbon sink and conserve the remaining
stores. Indeed, seagrass restoration programmes aiming to
recover seagrass habitat have been conducted world-wide
since the mid 20th century (Paling et al. 2009).
In summary, we demonstrate that seagrass loss leads to ero-
sion of carbon stores and that seagrass restoration pro-
grammes lead to the conservation of carbon stocks and
recovery of seagrass carbon sinks within management time-
scales. This study has addressed key uncertainties that have
thus far precluded the inclusion of seagrass conservation and
restoration within programmes, such as REDD+ (Reducing
Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation including
Conservation), to reduce carbon emissions.
302 N. Marba et al.
Acknowledgements
This work has been funded by the projects CSIRO Marine and Coastal Carbon
Biogeochemistry Cluster, Opera (EU FP7, Project No. 308393), MEDEICG
(CTM2009-07013) and EstresX (CTM2012-32603). We are grateful to A Gera
and D Provencßal for fieldwork assistance and A Zavala, P Carrillo and C
Alonso for analytical support. We thank R Hovey for providing d13C values of
Posidonia australis from Oyster Harbour and O Serrano for discussions during
the study. NM was supported by a mobility grant of CSIC (PA1003258) and a
Gledden Visiting Fellowship of the Institute of Advanced Studies (UWA), IM
by a PhD fellowship by the Government of the Balearic Islands, PM by ICREA
Academia and a Gledden Visiting Fellowship of the Institute of Advanced
Studies (UWA), PM and JGO by Generalitat de Catalunya to MERS (2014
SGR–1356), AAO by a PhD grant of Obra Social ‘la Caixa’ and GAK by two
concurrent Australian ARC Linkage projects (LP100200429, LP1301000155).
Data accessibility
The data set on sediment organic carbon concentration, density and sources is
available at the public data repository digital CSIC (Marba et al. 2014). Data
used to fit the empirical relationship between % LOI and % Corg are shown in
Fig. S2.
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Received 22 September 2014; accepted 5 January 2015
Handling Editor: John Lee
Supporting Information
Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online ver-
sion of this article:
Figure S1. Location of revegetated program with Posidonia australis
at Oyster Harbour.
Figure S2. Relationship between % LOI and % Corg in Oyster Har-
bour soil.
Table S1. Coordinates, age and size of seagrass (Posidonia australis)
of plots planted at Oyster Harbour (W Australia).