Little change in surface sediment carbon stock following seagrass restoration in Shark Bay, Western Australia

A study on seagrass restoration in Shark Bay, Western Australia, reveals that surface sediment carbon stocks show little to no recovery up to five years after the restoration of Posidonia australis. Despite efforts to restore seagrass meadows, organic carbon concentrations and isotopic signatures (δ13C) in newly restored areas remained statistically indistinguishable from unvegetated sand. This suggests that carbon sequestration capacity does not return quickly even with successful seagrass reestablishment. The findings highlight the slow recovery of sediment carbon stocks following restoration efforts, with potential implications for climate change mitigation strategies relying on seagrass restoration.

Rahayu, Y. P., Kendrick, G. A., Fraser, M. W., & Vanderklift, M. A. (2023). Little change in surface sediment carbon stock following seagrass restoration in Shark Bay, Western Australia. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 294, 108535. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2023.108535