Abstract
Mangrove forests and saltmarshes are important habitats for carbon (C) sequestration in the coastal zone but variation in rates of C sequestration and the factors controlling sequestration are poorly understood. We assessed C sequestration in Moreton Bay, South East Queensland in mangrove forests and tidal marshes that span a range of environmental settings and plant communities, including mangrove forests and tidal marshes on the oligotrophic sand islands of the eastern side of Moreton Bay and on the nutrient enriched, western side of the bay adjacent to the city of Brisbane. We found that rates of C sequestration in sediments were similar among mangrove forests over the bay, despite large differences in the C density of sediments, because of different rates of vertical accretion of sediments. The C sequestration on the oligotrophic sand island tidal marshes, dominated by Juncus kraussii, had the highest rate of C sequestration in the bay while the western saltmarshes, which were dominated by Sarcocornia quinqueflora, had the lowest rate of C sequestration. Our data indicate C sequestration varies among different tidal wetland plant community types, due to variation in sediment characteristics and rates of sediment accretion over time.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adame, M.F., D. Neil, S.F. Wright, and C.E. Lovelock. 2010. Sedimentation within and among mangrove forests along a gradient of geomorphological settings. Estuarine Coastal Shelf Science 86: 21–30.
Adame, M.F., S.F. Wright, A. Grinham, K. Lobb, C.E. Reymond, and C.E. Lovelock. 2012. Terrestrial–marine connectivity: Patterns of terrestrial soil carbon deposition in coastal sediments determined by analysis of glomalin-related soil protein. Limnology and Oceanography 57: 1492–1502.
Adame, M.F., J.B. Kauffman, I. Medina, J.N. Gamboa, O. Torres, J.P. Caamal, M. Reza, and J.A. Herrera-Silveira. 2013. Carbon stocks of tropical coastal wetlands within the karstic landscape of the Mexican Caribbean. PLoS ONE 8(2): e56569. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0056569.
Alongi, D.M. 2012. Carbon sequestration in mangrove forests. Carbon Management 3: 313–322.
Alongi, D.M., L.A. Trott, F. Rachmansyah, A.D. Tirendi, and M.C. Undu McKinnon. 2008. Growth and development of mangrove forests overlying smothered coral reefs, Sulawesi and Sumatra, Indonesia. Marine Ecology Progress Series 370: 97–109.
Bianchi, T.S. 2011. The role of terrestrially derived organic carbon in the coastal ocean: A changing paradigm and the priming effect. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 108: 19473–19481.
Bouillon, S., F. Dahdouh-Guebas, A.V.V.S. Rao, N. Koedam, and F. Dehairs. 2003. Sources of organic carbon in mangrove sediments: Variability and possible implications for ecosystem functioning. Hydrobiologia 495: 33–39.
Breithaupt, J. L., J. M. Smoak, T. J. Smith III, C. J. Sanders, A. Hoare (2012), Organic carbon burial rates in mangrove sediments: Strengthening the global budget, Global Biogeochem. Cycles, doi:10.1029/2012GB004375, in press (available online)
Brunskill, G.J., I. Zagorskis, and J. Pfitzner. 2002. Carbon burial rates in sediments, and a carbon mass balance, of the Herbert River region of the Great Barrier Reef continental shelf, north Queensland, Australia. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 54: 677–700.
Cahoon, D.R., J.C. Lynch, P. Hensel, R. Boumans, B.C. Perez, B. Segura, and J.W. Day. 2002a. High-precision measurements of wetland sediment elevation: I. Recent improvements to the sedimentation–erosion table. Journal of Sediment Research 72: 730–733.
Cahoon, D.R., J.C. Lynch, B.C. Perez, B. Segura, R.D. Holland, C. Stelly, G. Stephenson, and P. Hensel. 2002b. High-precision measurements of wetland sediment elevation: II. The rod surface elevation table. Journal of Sedimentary Research 72: 730–733.
Castaneda-Moya, E., R.R. Twilley, V.H. Rivera-Monroy, B.D. Marx, C. Coronado-Molina, and S.M.L. Ewe. 2011. Patterns of root dynamics in mangrove forests along environmental gradients in the Florida Coastal Everglades, USA. Ecosystems 14: 1178–1195.
Chapin, F.S. 1980. Mineral nutrition of wild plants. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 11: 233–260.
Chmura, G.L., S.C. Anisfeld, D.R. Cahoon, and J.C. Lynch. 2003. Global carbon sequestration in tidal, saline wetland soils. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 17: 1111. doi:10.1029/2002GB001917.
Congdon, R.A., and A.J. McComb. 1980. Nutrient pools of an estuarine ecosystem—The Blackwood River Estuary in south-western Australia. Journal of Ecology 68: 287–313.
Dennison, W.C., E.G. Abal. 1999. Moreton Bay Study. A scientific basis for the Healthy Waterways Campaign. Brisbane, SE Queensland Regional Water Quality Management Strategy, Brisbane City Council, 245pp.
Donato, D.C., J.B. Kauffman, D. Murdiyarso, S. Kurnianto, M. Stidham, and M. Kanninen. 2011. Mangroves among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics. Nature Geoscience 4: 293–297.
Duarte, C.M., and J. Cebrián. 1996. The fate of marine autotrophic production. Limnology and Oceanography 41: 1758–1766.
English, S., C. Wilkenson, V. Baker. 1997. Survey manual for tropical marine resources. Australian Institute of Marine Science.
Howe, A.J., J.F. Rodríguez, and P.M. Saco. 2009. Surface evolution and carbon sequestration in disturbed and undisturbed wetland soils of the Hunter estuary, southeast Australia. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 84: 75–83.
Kauffman, J.B., C. Heider, T. Cole, K.A. Dwire, and D.C. Donato. 2011. Ecosystem carbon pools of Micronesian mangrove forests: Implications of land use and climate change. Wetlands 31: 343–352.
Krauss, K.W., J.A. Allen, and D.R. Cahoon. 2003. Differential rates of vertical accretion and elevation change among aerial roots types in Micronesian mangrove forests. Estuarine, Coastal Shelf Science 56: 251–259.
Kristensen, E., S. Bouillon, T. Dittmar, and C. Marchand. 2008. Organic carbon dynamics in mangrove ecosystems: A review. Aquatic Botany 89: 201–219.
Lovelock, C.E., I.C. Feller, J. Ellis, N. Hancock, A.M. Schwarz, and B. Sorrell. 2007. Mangrove growth in New Zealand estuaries: The role of nutrient enrichment at sites with contrasting rates of sedimentation. Oecologia 153: 633–641.
Lovelock, C.E., B. Sorrell, N. Hancock, Q. Hua, and A. Swales. 2010. Mangrove forest and soil development on a rapidly accreting shore in New Zealand. Ecosystems 13: 437–451.
Lovelock, C.E., V. Bennion, A. Grinham, and D.R. Cahoon. 2011. The role of surface and subsurface processes in keeping pace with sea-level rise in intertidal wetlands of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. Ecosystems 14: 745–757.
McKee, K.L. 2001. Root proliferation in decaying roots and old root channels: a nutrient conservation mechanism in oligotrophic mangrove forests? Journal of Ecology 89: 876–887.
McKee, K.L. 2011. Biophysical controls on accretion and elevation change in Caribbean mangrove ecosystems. Estuarine, Coastal Shelf and Science 91: 475–483.
McKee, K.L., D.R. Cahoon, and I.C. Feller. 2007. Caribbean mangroves adjust to rising sea level through biotic controls on change in soil elevation. Global Ecology and Biogeography 16: 545–556.
Mcleod, E., G.L. Chmura, S. Bouillon, R. Salm, M. Bjork, C.M. Duarte, C.E. Lovelock, W.H. Schlesinger, and B. Silliman. 2011. A Blueprint for Blue Carbon: Towards an improved understanding of the role of vegetated coastal habitats in sequestering CO2. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 9: 552–560.
Middelburg, J.J., J. Nieuwenhuize, R.K. Lubberts, and O. van de Plassche. 1997. Organic carbon isotope systematics of coastal marshes. Estuarine, Coastal Shelf and Science 45: 681–687.
Middleton, B.A., and K.L. McKee. 2001. Degradation of mangrove tissues and implications for peat formation in Belizean island forests. Journal of Ecology 89: 818–828.
Osland, M.J., A.C. Spivak, J.A. Nestlerode, J.M. Lessmann, A.E. Almario, P.T. Heitmuller, M.J. Russell, K.W. Krauss, F. Alvarez, D.D. Dantin, J.E. Harvey, A.S. From, N. Cormier, and C.L. Stagg. 2012. Ecosystem development after mangrove wetland creation: Plant–soil change across a 20-year chronosequence. Ecosystems 15: 848–856.
Qualls, R.S., and C.J. Richardson. 2000. Phosphorus enrichment affects litter decomposition, immobilization, and soil microbial phosphorus in wetland mesocosms. Soil Science Society of America Journal 64: 799–808.
Reef, R., I.C. Feller, and C.E. Lovelock. 2010. Nutrition of mangroves. Tree Physiology 30: 1148–1160.
Rogers, K., N. Saintlian, C. Copeland. 2013. Managed retreat of saline coastal wetlands: Challenges and opportunities. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, in press.
Ruiz-Fernández, A.C., J.L. Marrugo-Negrete, R. Paternina-Uribe, and L.H. Pérez-Bernal. 2011. 210Pb-derived sedimentation rates and Corg fluxes in Soledad Lagoon (Cispatá Lagoon System, NW Caribbean Coast of Colombia). Estuaries and Coasts 34: 1117–1128.
Saintilan, N., K. Rogers, D. Mazumder, and C.D. Woodroffe. 2013. Allochthonous and autochthonous contributions to carbon accumulation and carbon store in southeastern Australian coastal wetlands. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science: 128: 84–92.
Siikamaki, J., J.N. Sanchirico, and S.L. Jardine. 2012. Global economic potential for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from mangrove loss. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, USA 109: 14369–14374.
Smoak, J.M., J.L. Breithaupt, T.J. Smith, and C.J. Sanders. 2013. Sediment accretion and organic carbon burial relative to sea-level rise and storm events in two mangrove forests in Everglades National Park. Catena 104: 58–66.
Traill, L.W., K. Perhans, C.E. Lovelock, A. Prohaska, J.R. Rhodes, and K.A. Wilson. 2011. Managing for global change: Wetland transitions under sea level rise and outcomes for threatened species. Diversity and Distributions 17: 1225–1233.
Twilley, R.R., R.H. Chen, and T. Hargis. 1992. Carbon sinks in mangroves and their implications to carbon budget of tropical coastal ecosystems. Water Air and Soil Pollution 64: 265–288.
You, Z.J. 2005. Fine sediment resuspension dynamics in a large semi-enclosed bay. Ocean Engineering 32: 1982–1993.
Acknowledgments
This work was conducted with the support of the South East Queensland Climate Adaptation Research Initiative, the National Centre of Excellence for Groundwater Research and Training and the Australian Coastal Carbon Biogeochemistry Cluster, CSIRO.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by Wayne S. Gardner
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lovelock, C.E., Adame, M.F., Bennion, V. et al. Contemporary Rates of Carbon Sequestration Through Vertical Accretion of Sediments in Mangrove Forests and Saltmarshes of South East Queensland, Australia. Estuaries and Coasts 37, 763–771 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-013-9702-4
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-013-9702-4