Livestock grazing, plant community and abiotic factors shape blue carbon stocks in Nordic coastal marshes
Abstract
Coastal marshes are key habitats contributing to organic carbon (OC) storage but remain understudied in Nordic regions regarding Blue Carbon processes. This study quantified OC stocks in above- and below-ground biomass and in the top 50 cm-soil across 12 grazed and ungrazed marshes, spanning major environmental gradients, and assessed how biotic (plant communities, livestock grazing) and abiotic (soil properties, environmental conditions) drivers shape OC storage. Grazing and environmental gradients strongly structured plant communities, partly by regulating the reed Phragmites australis, prevalent in ungrazed sites. Aboveground OC stocks were reduced by grazing, both directly through biomass removal and indirectly by reducing reed dominance. Belowground OC stocks were driven by plant community composition and indirectly by grazing effects on vegetation. Root biomass was concentrated in the top 15 cm in grazed sites and deeper (15–50 cm) in ungrazed sites, reflecting contrasting plant strategies. Abiotic soil properties were major large-scale drivers of soil OC storage, while grazing affected soil OC storage indirectly through plant composition. Soil OC stocks accounted for ∼73 % of total OC in grazed sites and ∼63 % in ungrazed ones and was higher in grazed sites (99.7 ± 57.9 Mg ha⁻¹) than in ungrazed sites (78.2 ± 44.2 Mg ha⁻¹). Soil OC increased with finer textures, whereas vegetation and grazing effects were variable and locally expressed. Overall, soil OC stocks in Nordic coastal marshes fall within the lower range of global estimates. These findings highlight the need to consider soil processes, grazing and environmental gradients tin the sustainable management of Nordic coastal marshes and their carbon storage potential.
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BibTeX
@article{richard2026livestock,
title = {{Livestock grazing, plant community and abiotic factors shape blue carbon stocks in Nordic coastal marshes}},
author = {Anaïs Richard and Carmen Leiva-Dueñas and Christoffer Boström and Beke Eichert and Annie Garnell and Nadja Nijm and Line Holm Andersen and Kai Jensen and Heli Jutila and Dorte Krause-Jensen and Nathalie Labourdette and Marianna Lanari and Ella Logemann and Katrin Moeller and Mikael von Numers and Gry Frederiksberg and Sofia Wikström and Cintia Organo Quintana and Gary Thomas Banta and Johan Eklöf},
journal = {Biogeosciences},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.5194/bg-23-4583-2026},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05853065v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Livestock grazing, plant community and abiotic factors shape blue carbon stocks in Nordic coastal marshes
AU - Anaïs Richard
AU - Carmen Leiva-Dueñas
AU - Christoffer Boström
AU - Beke Eichert
AU - Annie Garnell
AU - Nadja Nijm
AU - Line Holm Andersen
AU - Kai Jensen
AU - Heli Jutila
AU - Dorte Krause-Jensen
AU - Nathalie Labourdette
AU - Marianna Lanari
AU - Ella Logemann
AU - Katrin Moeller
AU - Mikael von Numers
AU - Gry Frederiksberg
AU - Sofia Wikström
AU - Cintia Organo Quintana
AU - Gary Thomas Banta
AU - Johan Eklöf
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/06
JO - Biogeosciences
DO - 10.5194/bg-23-4583-2026
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05853065v1
AB - Coastal marshes are key habitats contributing to organic carbon (OC) storage but remain understudied in Nordic regions regarding Blue Carbon processes. This study quantified OC stocks in above- and below-ground biomass and in the top 50 cm-soil across 12 grazed and ungrazed marshes, spanning major environmental gradients, and assessed how biotic (plant communities, livestock grazing) and abiotic (soil properties, environmental conditions) drivers shape OC storage. Grazing and environmental gradients strongly structured plant communities, partly by regulating the reed Phragmites australis, prevalent in ungrazed sites. Aboveground OC stocks were reduced by grazing, both directly through biomass removal and indirectly by reducing reed dominance. Belowground OC stocks were driven by plant community composition and indirectly by grazing effects on vegetation. Root biomass was concentrated in the top 15 cm in grazed sites and deeper (15–50 cm) in ungrazed sites, reflecting contrasting plant strategies. Abiotic soil properties were major large-scale drivers of soil OC storage, while grazing affected soil OC storage indirectly through plant composition. Soil OC stocks accounted for ∼73 % of total OC in grazed sites and ∼63 % in ungrazed ones and was higher in grazed sites (99.7 ± 57.9 Mg ha⁻¹) than in ungrazed sites (78.2 ± 44.2 Mg ha⁻¹). Soil OC increased with finer textures, whereas vegetation and grazing effects were variable and locally expressed. Overall, soil OC stocks in Nordic coastal marshes fall within the lower range of global estimates. These findings highlight the need to consider soil processes, grazing and environmental gradients tin the sustainable management of Nordic coastal marshes and their carbon storage potential.
SN - 1726-4170
SN - 1726-4189
ER -