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Impact of bottom trawling on long-term carbon sequestration in shelf sea sediments
  • +12
  • Wenyan Zhang,
  • Lucas Porz,
  • Rümeysa Yilmaz,
  • Jannis Kuhlmann,
  • Andreas Neumann,
  • Bo Liu,
  • Daniel Müller,
  • Timo Spiegel,
  • Moritz Holtappels,
  • Nadja Ziebarth,
  • Bettins Taylor,
  • Klaus Wallmann,
  • Sabine Kasten,
  • Ute Daewel,
  • Corinna Schrum
Wenyan Zhang
Institute of Coastal Systems-Analysis and Modeling, Helmholtz-Zentrum hereon

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Lucas Porz
Institute of Coastal Systems-Analysis and Modeling, Helmholtz-Zentrum hereon
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Rümeysa Yilmaz
Institute of Coastal Systems-Analysis and Modeling, Helmholtz-Zentrum hereon
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Jannis Kuhlmann
BUND-Meeresschutzbüro, Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland e.V. (BUND)
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Andreas Neumann
Helmholtz-Zentrum hereon, Institute of Carbon Cycles
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Bo Liu
Alfred Wegener Institute
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Daniel Müller
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
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Timo Spiegel
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
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Moritz Holtappels
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
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Nadja Ziebarth
BUND-Meeresschutzbüro, Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland e.V. (BUND)
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Bettins Taylor
BUND-Meeresschutzbüro, Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland e.V. (BUND)
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Klaus Wallmann
GEOMAR
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Sabine Kasten
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
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Ute Daewel
Institute of Coastal Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht
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Corinna Schrum
University of Hamburg, Institute of Oceanography
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Abstract

Bottom trawling represents the most widespread anthropogenic physical disturbance to shelf sea sediments. While trawling-induced mortality in benthic fauna has been extensively investigated, its impacts on ecosystem functioning and carbon cycling at regional scales remain unclear. Using the North Sea as an example, we address these issues by synthesizing a high-resolution dataset of bottom trawling impact on sediments, feeding this dataset into a 3-dimensional physical–biogeochemical model to estimate trawling-induced changes in biomass, bioturbation and sedimentary organic carbon, and assessing model results with field samples. Results suggest a trawling-induced net reduction in macrobenthic biomass by 10-27%. Trawling-induced resuspension and reduction of bioturbation jointly and accumulatively reduce the regional sedimentary organic carbon sequestration capacity by 21-67%, equivalent to 0.58-1.84 Mt CO2 yr-1. Our study emphasizes the need for proper management of trawling on muddy seabeds, if the natural capacity of shelf seas for carbon sequestration should be conserved and restored.
07 Feb 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
07 Feb 2023Published in ESS Open Archive