Ten years of conservation efforts enhance seagrass cover and carbon storage in Thailand

Abstract

Abstract Seagrasses are known as engineering ecosystems that play important roles in coastal environments. Globally, seagrass areas have been declining, and many conservation projects have been carried out to prevent further decline. The goal of this work was to determine how successful conservation efforts have been in a seagrass meadow at Koh Tha Rai in the Nakhon Si Thammarat Province of southern Thailand in terms of meadow extent, coverage and organic carbon storage. A study was conducted in 2017 and compared to a previous study from 2006 to determine the effects of the various conservation efforts devoted to this area. The results show that the total seagrass area increased by 0.7 ha with a rate of increase of approximately 0.06 ha year−1. The total coverage of seagrass increased by approximately 3 times. The organic carbon in existing seagrass meadows (2006) was 53.35 Mg ha−1, while growth was 32.34 Mg ha−1 in the areas of new seagrass. Moreover, the total organic carbon storage in the sediment increased by 26.86 MgC from 2006 to 2017 (from 211.60 MgC to 235.46 MgC). In conclusion, this study demonstrated the importance of successful conservation efforts in terms of increasing seagrass meadow areas, seagrass coverage and carbon storage within the meadow.