Biomass and productivity of seagrasses in Africa

Githaiga, Michael N; Gilpin, Linda; Kairo, James G; Huxham, Mark

Abstract

There is growing interest in carbon stocks and flows in seagrass ecosystems, but recent global reviews suggest a paucity of studies from Africa. This paper reviews work on seagrass productivity, biomass and sediment carbon in Africa. Most work was conducted in East Africa with a major geographical gap in West Africa. The mean above-ground, below-ground and total biomasses from all studies were 174.4, 474.6 and 514 g DW m-2, respectively with a global range of 461-738 g DW m-2. Mean annual production rate was 913 g DW m-2 yr-1 (global range 816 - 1012 g DW m-2 yr-1). No studies were found giving sediment organic carbon, demonstrating a major gap in seagrass blue carbon work. Given the small numbers of relevant papers and the large geographical areas left undescribed in Africa, any conclusions remain tentative and much remains to be done on seagrass studies in Africa.

Citation

Githaiga, M. N., Gilpin, L., Kairo, J. G., & Huxham, M. (2016). Biomass and productivity of seagrasses in Africa. Botanica Marina, 59(2-3), 173-186. https://doi.org/10.1515/bot-2015-0075

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 26, 2016
• Online Publication Date: May 25, 2016
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: May 3, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: May 26, 2017
• Journal: Botanica Marina
• Print ISSN: 0006-8055
• Electronic ISSN: 1437-4323
• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 59
• Issue: 2-3
• Pages: 173-186
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/bot-2015-0075
• Keywords: Africa; blue carbon; productivity; seagrasses
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/9971