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Shrimp farming influence on carbon and nutrient accumulation within Peruvian mangroves sediments
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Shrimp farming influence on carbon and nutrient accumulation within Peruvian mangroves sediments

Alexander Pérez, Wilson Machado, Dimitri Gutiérrez, Maritza S Saldarriaga and Christian J Sanders
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Vol.243, p.106879
30/09/2020
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Shrimp farming influence on carbon and nutrient accumulation within Peruvian mangroves sedimentsView
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Abstract

Peruvian mangroves Shrimp farming Sea level rise Carbon accumulation Nutrient enrichment δ13C and δ15N
In order to investigate the influence of shrimp farming activities on carbon and nutrient accumulation, sediment cores were collected from two areas at different distances from shrimp farms within a Peruvian mangrove ecosystem. In both areas two sediment cores were collected in a transect, one from a mangrove-covered site and one from a mudflat site. At both study sites, the isotopic values of carbon and nitrogen as well as the C:N molar ratios suggest that the highest carbon accumulation rates were linked to terrestrial-derived organic matter, with higher carbon stocks and fluxes within mangrove-covered zones. The historical records indicate that since the mid-1970′s, the areas nearest to the shrimp farming activity have been accumulating higher proportions of algal derived organic matter, which were likely triggered by the high nutrient influx derived from shrimp farming effluents. The carbon and nutrient fluxes were up to threefold higher within the area nearest to the shrimp farms, whereas the geochronologies showed that the carbon and nutrient stocks in this area increased by up to twofold. The results showed that mangrove-covered zones are more capable to keep pace with sea level rise (SLR) as compared to the mudflat zones, indicating the importance of mangrove vegetation in terms of the vulnerability of this region to SLR and an ongoing capacity to continue accumulating sediments. This study highlights the role that mangrove vegetation plays in mitigating the impact of shrimp farming activities, accumulating carbon and nutrients in pace with SLR. [Display omitted] •C, N and P accumulation in mangroves increased due to nearby shrimp farming.•Carbon accumulation increased up to twofold since the shrimp farming establishment.•Nutrient accumulation was higher in the area near to the shrimp farms.•The role of mangrove in mitigating shrimp farming nutrient runoff was evidenced.

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