Seagrass beds and coastal biogeochemistry

Abstract

Seagrasses develop extensive beds at the interface between the water column and sediment in tidal or subtidal environments. The height of seagrass canopy ranges from a few centimetres to more than a meter (Koch et al., Chapter 8), and seagrass rhizospheres may penetrate from centimetres (e.g. Halophila sp; Duarte et al., 1998) to a few meters (e.g. Posidonia oceanica; Mateo et al., 1997) into the sediment, depending on the species. Seagrass beds may support large above- and below-ground biomasses (Fig. 1), and they rank amongst the most productive marine primary producers (Duarte and Chiscano, 1999; Mateo et al., Chapter 7). © 2006/2007 Springer. All Rights Reserved.