Seasonal ecosystem metabolism across shallow benthic habitats measured by aquatic eddy covariance

[摘要] Shallow benthic habitats are hotspots for carbon cycling and energy flow, but metabolism (primary production and respiration) dynamics and habitat-specific differences remain poorly understood. We investigated daily, seasonal, and annual metabolism in six key benthic habitats in the Baltic Sea using ~ 2900 h of in situ aquatic eddy covariance oxygen flux measurements. Rocky substrates had the highest metabolism rates. Habitat-specific annual primary production per m2 was in the order Fucus vesiculosus canopy >Mytilus trossulus reef >Zostera marina canopy >mixed macrophytes canopy > sands, whereas respiration was in the order M. trossulus> F. vesiculosus>Z. marina>mixed macrophytes > sands > aphotic sediments. Winter metabolism contributed 22–31% of annual rates. Spatial upscaling revealed that benthic habitats drive > 90% of ecosystem metabolism in waters ≤5m depth, highlighting their central role in carbon and nutrient cycling in shallow waters.

[学科分类] 口腔科学