The balance of nutrient losses and gains in seagrass meadows
Hemminga, M.A.; Harrison, P.G.; van Lent, F. (1991). The balance of nutrient losses and gains in seagrass meadows. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 71: 85-96
In: Marine Ecology Progress Series. Inter-Research: Oldendorf/Luhe. ISSN 0171-8630; e-ISSN 1616-1599, meer
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Trefwoorden |
Anatomical structures > Body organs > Plant organs > Leaves Chemical compounds > Nitrogen compounds > Ammonia Chemical compounds > Nitrogen compounds > Nitrates Chemical reactions > Denitrification Cycles > Chemical cycles > Geochemical cycle > Biogeochemical cycle > Nutrient cycles Dietary deficiencies > Nutrient deficiency Flora > Weeds > Marine organisms > Seaweeds > Sea grass Ingestion Population characteristics > Biomass Population functions > Growth Temporal variations > Periodic variations > Seasonal variations Zostera subg. Zostera marina Linnaeus, 1753 [WoRMS] Marien/Kust |
Auteurs | | Top |
- Hemminga, M.A., meer
- Harrison, P.G.
- van Lent, F.
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Abstract |
A series of processes lead to nutrient losses from the seagrass bed. Export of leaves and leaf fragments with currents, leaching losses from photosynthetically active leaves and from senescent and dead plant material, and nutrient transfer by mobile foraging animals, are processes specific to seagrass meadows; in addition, the nutrient losses are aggravated by 2 processes commonly occurring in marine sediments; denitrification and diffusion of nutrients from the sediments to the overlying water column. The persistence in time of most seagrass meadows points to an existing balance between nutrient losses and gains. Three processes may contribute to the replenishment of nutrients; nitrogen-fixation, sedimentation and nutrient uptake by the leaves. |
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