History of a colonization

The paleoenvironmental analysis of sediments beneath seagrass meadows Zostera marina On the coasts of Sweden, it has allowed us to identify the moment when the meadow was established in the studied area. Over the 14,000 years recorded, Z. marina Its colonisation would have begun around 2,000 years ago, when environmental conditions were favourable (shallow and sheltered seabeds). Its presence resulted in an increase of 20 to 24 times more in the sequestration of carbon and nitrogen in the sediments of the area, illustrating the value of seagrass meadows as filters of excess harmful elements for the environment, contributing to the mitigation of their effects (CO2-global warming and nitrogen-eutrophication).

Publication: Martin Dahl, Martin Gullström, Irene Bernabeu, Oscar Serrano, Carmen Leiva-Dueñas, Hans W. Linderholm, Maria E. Asplund, Mats Björk, Tinghai Ou, J. Robin Svensson, Elinor Andrén, Thomas Andrén, Sanne Bergman, Sara Braun, Anneli Eklöf, Zilvinas Ežerinskis, Andrius Garbaras, Petter Hällberg, Elin Löfgren, Malin E. Kylander, Pere Masqué, Justina Šapolaitė, Rienk Smittenberg, Miguel A. Mateo (2024). A 2,000-year record of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) colonisation shows substantial gains in blue carbon storage and nutrient retention. Global Biogeochemical Cycles (in production phase).