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Measuring the role of seagrasses in regulating sediment surface elevation

dc.contributor.authorPotouroglou, Maria
dc.contributor.authorBull, James C.
dc.contributor.authorKrauss, Ken W.
dc.contributor.authorKennedy, Hilary A.
dc.contributor.authorFusi, Marco
dc.contributor.authorDaffonchio, Daniele
dc.contributor.authorMangora, Mwita M.
dc.contributor.authorGithaiga, Michael N.
dc.contributor.authorDiele, Karen
dc.contributor.authorHuxham, Mark
dc.date.accessioned2017-10-01T05:07:26Z
dc.date.available2017-10-01T05:07:26Z
dc.date.issued2017-09-13
dc.identifier.citationPotouroglou M, Bull JC, Krauss KW, Kennedy HA, Fusi M, et al. (2017) Measuring the role of seagrasses in regulating sediment surface elevation. Scientific Reports 7. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-12354-y.
dc.identifier.issn2045-2322
dc.identifier.pmid28928433
dc.identifier.doi10.1038/s41598-017-12354-y
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10754/625517
dc.description.abstractSeagrass meadows provide numerous ecosystem services and their rapid global loss may reduce human welfare as well as ecological integrity. In common with the other 'blue carbon' habitats (mangroves and tidal marshes) seagrasses are thought to provide coastal defence and encourage sediment stabilisation and surface elevation. A sophisticated understanding of sediment elevation dynamics in mangroves and tidal marshes has been gained by monitoring a wide range of different sites, located in varying hydrogeomorphological conditions over long periods. In contrast, similar evidence for seagrasses is sparse; the present study is a contribution towards filling this gap. Surface elevation change pins were deployed in four locations, Scotland, Kenya, Tanzania and Saudi Arabia, in both seagrass and unvegetated control plots in the low intertidal and shallow subtidal zone. The presence of seagrass had a highly significant, positive impact on surface elevation at all sites. Combined data from the current work and the literature show an average difference of 31 mm per year in elevation rates between vegetated and unvegetated areas, which emphasizes the important contribution of seagrass in facilitating sediment surface elevation and reducing erosion. This paper presents the first multi-site study for sediment surface elevation in seagrasses in different settings and species.
dc.description.sponsorshipThe inception of the current study was made possible through funding (grant reference SG178) received under MASTS Small Grants Scheme (The Marine Alliance for Science and for Scotland), and its support is gratefully acknowledged. MP was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council NE/K501207/1. MF and DD were supported by DD baseline funding from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). NMG was supported by the Coastal Ecosystem Services in East Africa (CESEA) NE/L001535/1 research project and was funded with support from the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme. The ESPA programme is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). The study was also supported by the Global Environment Facility’s Blue Forests Project, an initiative of UN Environment, focused on harnessing the values associated with coastal carbon and ecosystem services to achieve climate resilient communities around the globe (www.gefblueforests.org). Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
dc.publisherSpringer Nature
dc.relation.urlhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-12354-y
dc.rightsThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.titleMeasuring the role of seagrasses in regulating sediment surface elevation
dc.typeArticle
dc.contributor.departmentBiological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) Division
dc.contributor.departmentBioscience Program
dc.identifier.journalScientific Reports
dc.eprint.versionPublisher's Version/PDF
dc.contributor.institutionSchool of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK.
dc.contributor.institutionDepartment of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK.
dc.contributor.institutionU.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, 700 Cajundome Blvd., Lafayette, Louisiana, 70506, USA.
dc.contributor.institutionSchool of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Anglesey, UK.
dc.contributor.institutionInstitute of Marine Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
dc.contributor.institutionKenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), Mombasa, Kenya.
dc.contributor.institutionSt Abbs Marine Station, The Harbour, St Abbs, UK.
kaust.personFusi, Marco
kaust.personDaffonchio, Daniele
refterms.dateFOA2018-06-13T14:46:15Z


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This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.