ABSTRACT
Despite having an autotrophic source of carbon (C) input, seagrass bed soils contained a third of the C found in mangroves. C sequestration in wood biomass accounted for 1–55% of total mangrove ecosystem C pools, compared to 2–51% in non-arid mangrove ecosystems and 1–6% in United Arab Emirates salt marshes. Blue C ecosystems of a large arid region in which the dominant autotrophic inputs ranged from trees to mat-forming microbial assemblages exhibited a wide range in C stocks that are generally consistent with patterns expected from our understanding of humid and semi-humid systems. Interest in mangrove, marsh, and seagrass C stocks and sequestration rates has grown rapidly since the publication of Blue C. A Rapid Response Assessment, which highlighted the fact that these ecosystems are hot spots for carbon storage when compared to other terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems.
