Post-graduate theses

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Identifier	000463132
Title	Blue carbon stocks and accumulation rates of seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) meadows of the South Aegean Sea
Alternative Title	Εκτίμηση του δυναμικού των θαλάσσιων λιβαδιών, Posidonia oceanica, στην αποθήκευση μπλε άνθρακα
Author	Ευθυμιάδης, Παύλος Θεόφιλος Σ.
Thesis advisor	Καρακάσης, Ιωάννης
Reviewer	Κεντούρη, Μαρουδιώ Αποστολάκη, Ευγενία
Abstract	Over the last decades, we are facing the consequences of the dual warming and biodiversity crisis, induced by the ever-increasing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. In the context of mitigating the effects of this dual climate crisis, the concept of Blue Carbon emerges as a promising Nature based Solution. Seagrass meadows, one of the major Coastal Blue Carbon Ecosystems, ranks among the most important carbon sinks globally, estimated to bury Corg at a range from 48 to 112 Tg yr-1 , corresponding to 10 – 18 % of the global carbon burial in the ocean sediment. Specifically, the endemic in the Mediterranean seagrass, Posidonia oceanica, is considered as a major carbon sink globally, offering multiple services enhancing coastal resilience as well. The Greek Seas present a compelling case for assessing the storage capacity and accumulation rates of P. oceanica meadows, as it constitutes the third country with its largest extent. Here, we assessed the natural variability of organic carbon (Corg) carbon stocks and long-term carbon accumulation rates (CAR) of 42 monospecific P. oceanica meadows expanding across the South Aegean Sea (Greece), and specifically within the regions of Saronikos Gulf, Cyclades Archipelago, Dodecanese Archipelago and Crete Island. Furthermore, we estimated the capacity of P. oceanica meadows of the S. Aegean to accumulate the total CO2 emissions of the country. P. oceanica stocks and CAR showed a mean of 11.1 kg m-2 and 25.3 g m-2 yr-1 , respectively. The region of Cyclades Archipelago showed the highest stocks and CAR among regions, emerging as a Blue Carbon hotspot of the Greek Seas. Furthermore, all the sedimentary biogeochemical variables tested had a significant effect on Corg content, with silt/clay and δ13C showing a positive effect and DBD and Cinorg a negative effect. Considering their total extent within the South Aegean, P. oceanica meadows were capable of capturing 104 kt CO2 eq yr-1 , corresponding to 0.1 % of the total CO2 emissions of Greece for the year 2021.
Language	English
Subject	Carbon sink
	Climate change mitigation
	Coastal wetlands
	LULUCF
	Nature-based solutions
	Seagrass
	Θαλάσσια λιβάδια
	Κλιματική αλλαγή
	Μεσόγειος θάλασσα
Issue date	2024-03-29
Collection	School/Department--School of Sciences and Engineering--Department of Biology--Post-graduate theses
	Type of Work--Post-graduate theses
Permanent Link	https://elocus.lib.uoc.gr//dlib/f/a/4/metadata-dlib-1710144142-992877-29300.tkl
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