Abstract
We conducted a 2-year in situ experiment to test the capacity of iron additions to reverse the decline experienced by a Posidonia oceanica meadow colonizing carbonate, iron poor sediment. Iron additions improved the sediment conditions that support seagrass growth by decreasing the sediment sulfide concentration and sulfate reduction rates, and decreased sulfide intrusion into the plants. Iron additions for 2 years did not significantly change survivorship of shoots present at the onset of the experiment, but significantly increased shoot recruitment and survivorship of shoots recruited during the experiment. After 2 years, iron additions reversed seagrass decline and yielded positive growth rates of shoots relative to control populations where seagrass continued to decline. This research demonstrates that seagrass decline in carbonate sediments may be reversed by targeting critical processes such are sediment sulfide pools and seagrass nutritional status, controlling the functioning of the ecosystem.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was funded by the EU project MedVeg (Q5RS-2001-02456) and the project 055/2002 of the Spanish Ministry of Environment. We thank the company JAER for supplying the Fe-chelate used in the experiment. We are grateful to the officers and guards of Cabrera Archipelago National Park for providing access to the study site and park facilities, and to Miguel Angel for his delicious cooking. We are indebted to Rocío Santiago and Regino Martínez for field and laboratory assistance. Elena Díaz-Almela and Maria Calleja were supported by PhD grants from the Balearic Government and the Spanish Research Council, respectively. We thank Antonio Tovar-Sánchez and two anonymous reviewers for useful comments on the manuscript.
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Marbà, N., Calleja, M.L., Duarte, C.M. et al. Iron Additions Reduce Sulfide Intrusion and Reverse Seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) Decline in Carbonate Sediments. Ecosystems 10, 745–756 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-007-9053-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-007-9053-8