Marine Ecology Progress Series
MEPS is a leading hybrid research journal on all aspects of marine, coastal and estuarine ecology. Priority is given to outstanding research that advances our ecological understanding.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14853
copiedSoil organic carbon stocks and sources in a tropical mangrove-associated Halophila beccarii meadow
- Limei Xie
- Shunyang Chen
- Shiquan Chen
- Wei Mao
- Yule Lin
- Ying Zhang
- Guangcheng Chen
- Bin Chen
- Jiahui Chen
- Jiarui Kang
- Yong Ye
ABSTRACT:
Seagrass meadows have a high organic carbon (OC) storage capacity, and the long-lived recalcitrant OC (ROC) pool is an important component of the soil OC pool. Halophila beccarii is a widespread species that develops intertidally and is typically associated with mangroves; however, the soil OC stocks and the contribution of mangrove-derived OC to the soil OC pool are still poorly studied. Here we investigated the soil OC and ROC pools, as well as the carbon sources, in an H. beccarii meadow located in Huachang Bay, a tropical lagoon in Hainan, South China. The results showed that the meadow had a low seagrass biomass, and the soil OC contents and stocks down to 90 cm depths were low in the H. beccarii meadow, ranging from 0.51 to 6.27 mg g-1 and from 17.19 to 48.64 t C ha-1, respectively. However, the seagrass soils had high ROC:OC ratios (69.6-100%), and the soil OC content showed a significant linear increase with soil ROC content. Isotopic analyses revealed that the soil δ13C values were closer to the δ13C values of mangrove litter than to those of seagrass plant tissues. The results suggest that mangrove-derived OC contributes more to soil OC than seagrass-derived OC in intertidal H. beccarii meadows and that the soil OC contents change as a function of the mangrove ROC accumulation in the soils.
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Limei Xie (Co-author)
- Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, PR China
- College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, PR China
Shunyang Chen (Co-author)
- Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, PR China
- Observation and Research Station of Coastal Wetland Ecosystem in Beibu Gulf, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beihai 536000, PR China
Shiquan Chen (Co-author)
- Hainan Academy of Ocean and Fisheries Sciences, Haikou 570125, PR China
Wei Mao (Co-author)
- School of Ecology, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, PR China
Yule Lin (Co-author)
- School of Geographical Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, PR China
Ying Zhang (Co-author)
- Lingnan Normal University, Zhanjiang 524048, PR China
Guangcheng Chen (Corresponding Author)
- Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, PR China
- Observation and Research Station of Coastal Wetland Ecosystem in Beibu Gulf, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beihai 536000, PR China
Bin Chen (Co-author)
- Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, PR China
- Observation and Research Station of Coastal Wetland Ecosystem in Beibu Gulf, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beihai 536000, PR China
Jiahui Chen (Co-author)
- Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, PR China
Jiarui Kang (Co-author)
- Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, PR China
Yong Ye (Co-author)
- College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, PR China
Handling Editor:
Mirta Teichberg, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA
Reviewers:
L. Gillis, D.M. Alongi and 1 anonymous referee
Acknowledgements:
This research was funded by Hainan Province’s Key Research and Development Projects (grant numbers ZDYF2023SHFZ172 and ZDYF2024SHFZ053) and the Scientific Research Foundation of the Third Institute of Oceanography, MNR (2020017). We are grateful to Pengfei Lin, Yunpeng Liu, Jingzhu Xu, Hongyi Wu, Hongyu Liu, Haotian Su, and Wenshuo An for their assistance with the field sampling and laboratory work.