Natural and regenerated saltmarshes exhibit similar soil and belowground organic carbon stocks, root production and soil respiration

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dc.contributor.authorSantini, NSen_AU
dc.contributor.authorLovelock, CEen_AU
dc.contributor.authorHua, Qen_AU
dc.contributor.authorZawadzki, Aen_AU
dc.contributor.authorMazumder, Den_AU
dc.contributor.authorMercer, TRen_AU
dc.contributor.authorMuñoz-Rojas, Aen_AU
dc.contributor.authorHardwick, SAen_AU
dc.contributor.authorMadala, BSen_AU
dc.contributor.authorCornwell, Wen_AU
dc.contributor.authorThomas, Ten_AU
dc.contributor.authorMarzinelli, EMen_AU
dc.contributor.authorAdam, Pen_AU
dc.contributor.authorPaul, Sen_AU
dc.contributor.authorVergés, Aen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2021-08-20T00:20:37Zen_AU
dc.date.available2021-08-20T00:20:37Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2019-04-10en_AU
dc.date.statistics2021-08-17en_AU
dc.descriptionAuthor’s Contribution: All authors conceived or designed the study and performed research. NSS, QH, SAH, AZ analysed data. NSS wrote the paper with assistance from all authors.en_AU
dc.description.abstractSaltmarshes provide many valuable ecosystem services including storage of a large amount of ‘blue carbon’ within their soils. To date, up to 50% of the world’s saltmarshes have been lost or severely degraded primarily due to a variety of anthropogenic pressures. Previous efforts have aimed to restore saltmarshes and their ecosystem functions, but the success of these efforts is rarely evaluated. To fill this gap, we used a range of metrics, including organic carbon stocks, root production, soil respiration and microbial communities to compare natural and a 20-year restoration effort in saltmarsh habitats within the Sydney Olympic Park in New South Wales, Australia. We addressed four main questions: (1) Have above- and belowground plant biomass recovered to natural levels? (2) Have organic carbon stocks of soils recovered? (3) Are microbial communities similar between natural and regenerated saltmarshes? and (4) Are microbial communities at both habitats associated to ecosystem characteristics? For both soil organic carbon stocks and belowground biomass, we found no significant differences between natural and regenerated habitats (F(1,14) = 0.47, p = 0.5; F(1,42) = 0.08, p = 0.76). Aboveground biomass was higher in the natural habitat compared to the regenerated habitat (F(1,20) = 27.3, p < 0.0001), which may result from a site-specific effect: protection from erosion offered by a fringing mangrove forest in the natural habitat but not the regenerated habitat. Our microbial community assessment indicated that restored and natural saltmarsh habitats were similar at a phylum level, with the exception of a higher proportion of Proteobacteria in the rhizosphere of saltmarshes from the regenerated habitat (p < 0.01). Abundance of both Desulfuromonas and Geobacter was associated with high carbon and nitrogen densities in soils indicating that these genera may be key for the recovery of ecosystem characteristics in saltmarshes. Our restored and natural saltmarsh soils store at 30 cm depth similar levels of organic carbon: 47.9 Mg OC ha−1 to 64.6 Mg OC ha−1. Conservation of urban saltmarshes could be important for ‘blue carbon’ programmes aimed at mitigating atmospheric carbon dioxide. © 2019 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Natureen_AU
dc.identifier.citationSantini, N. S., Lovelock, C. E., Hua, Q., Zawadzki, A., Mazumder, D., Mercer, T. R., Muñoz-Rojas, M., Hardwick, S. A., Madala, B. S., Cornwell, W., Thomas, T., Marzinelli, E. M., Adam, P., Paul, S., & Vergés, A. (2019). Natural and regenerated saltmarshes exhibit similar soil and belowground organic carbon stocks, root production and soil respiration. Ecosystems, 22(8), 1803-1822. doi:10.1007/s10021-019-00373-xen_AU
dc.identifier.issn1435-0629en_AU
dc.identifier.issue8en_AU
dc.identifier.journaltitleEcosystemsen_AU
dc.identifier.pagination1803-1822en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-019-00373-xen_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/dspace/handle/10238/11400en_AU
dc.identifier.volume22en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherSpringer Nature Limiteden_AU
dc.subjectMarshesen_AU
dc.subjectWetlandsen_AU
dc.subjectCarbon dioxideen_AU
dc.subjectEcosystemsen_AU
dc.subjectSoilsen_AU
dc.subjectHabitaten_AU
dc.subjectEnvironmenten_AU
dc.subjectMicroorganismsen_AU
dc.subjectMangrovesen_AU
dc.subjectBiomassen_AU
dc.subjectErosionen_AU
dc.subjectNew South Walesen_AU
dc.subjectAustraliaen_AU
dc.titleNatural and regenerated saltmarshes exhibit similar soil and belowground organic carbon stocks, root production and soil respirationen_AU
dc.typeJournal Articleen_AU
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