Assessment of blue carbon in seagrass meadows in Pulicat Lake, Andhra Pradesh, India

Coastal ecosystems such as seagrass , mangroves and saltmarshes sequester and store large quantities of carbon in the soil. Carbon sequestration potential of four seagrass species Halophila ovalis , Halodule pinifolia , Syringodium isoetifolium and Halodule uninervis in Pulicat Lake, Andhra Pradesh, India was assessed. The mean seagrass biomass within the seagrass beds in the lake ranged from 1.43 ± 0.06 to 2.01 ± 0.12 Mg/ ha and the total blue carbon storage in the seagrass meadows ranged from 0.49 ± 0.15 to 9.52 ± 0.15 Mg C ha −1 while stored carbon in the sediment ranged from 1.29 ± 0.04 to 11.94 ± 0.15 Mg C ha −1 . Regression analysis showed a considerable correlation between seagrass carbon and sediment carbon. Among the environmental parameters analyzed, pH showed significant correlation with seagrass biomass and sediment carbon ( P < 0.05 ). The present study demonstrates the carbon sequestration potential of seagrass ecosystem in the Pulicat Lake.