Quantitative study on the role of transport of particulate organic matter from a seagrass bed in coastal ecosystem

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24510008
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Environmental dynamic analysis
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Fukuda Hideki 東京大学, 大気海洋研究所, 准教授 (30451892)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): MIYAJIMA Toshihiro 東京大学, 大気海洋研究所, 助教 (20311631)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 生物地球化学 / 沿岸生態学 / アマモ場 / 東日本大震災

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Seagrass ground in the coastal ecosystem has a function to mitigate inflow load of particulate organic matter (POM) from the land area by inducing settling of POM and by following biological decomposition. We examined the role of the buffering function of seagrass ground in the material cycling in a low productive coastal ecosystem by comparing characteristics of suspended material and settling particle among seagrass grounds in Ostuchi Bay (northeastern Japan) damaged by the tsunami following the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake. Our results revealed that a difference in coverage of seagrass changes physicochemical characteristic of biophilc elements transported from seagrass ground by affecting re-suspension process of sand and accumulation process of POM within seagrass ground.

Free Research Field

生物地球化学