Seagrass Carbon cycling and Local Environmental Drivers

Seagrass meadows have been identified as hotspots for carbon (C) sequestration, however, their full sequestration potential and its response to global change remains poorly understood and quantified.

Large temporal and spatial variability of reported seagrass meadow carbon cycling rates limit our ability to robustly estimate seagrass meadows contribution to the global carbon cycle.

With the SCaLED project, I will combine ecological, biogeochemical and modelling methods to develop a mechanistic understanding of seagrass meadow carbon cycling and sequestration, which will elucidate the observed variability, and thereby, enable robust present-day estimates and future forecasting of seagrass meadow carbon cycling.

During the SCaLED project, I will receive training in the state-of-the-art Eddy Covariance technique, which I will apply alongside an ecological field survey, to quantify the dominant drivers of seagrass meadow carbon cycling.

Using predictive and spatial modelling, I will make mechanistic regional forecasts of present-day seagrass carbon cycling, which will provide vital information for coastal managers and will help inform regional climate change policies.

To further advance our mechanistic understanding and to forecast the future of seagrass meadow carbon cycling under climate change scenarios, I will conduct a secondment with ecological and biogeochemical modellers where I will develop an innovative dynamic seagrass carbon cycling model.

The proposed interdisciplinary approach constitutes an unrivalled opportunity to increase our understanding of carbon cycling in the coastal zone and will provide me with a novel skillset that will set me up as an independent and innovative researcher.