Carbon stock and ?13C data of sediment samples collected from a tropical seagrass meadow in Malaysia

Authors

  • Nur Hidayah Centre for Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Siti Aishah Tahirin Centre for Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Mohammad Fairoz Centre for Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Mohammad Rozaimi Centre for Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.2019.6.2.489

Keywords:

blue carbon, estuary, organic carbon, CaCO3, source provenance

Abstract

Seagrass ecosystems are considered as major blue carbon sinks, thus contributing directly to the mitigation of climate change by storing carbon in their habitats. However, empirical data for carbon stocks in Malaysia seagrass meadow sediment remain unreported in a standardised format. This paper presents data on organic (OC) and inorganic carbon (IC) stocks, and stable isotope signatures of carbon (?13C) in bulk seagrass sediments collected from Sungai Pulai estuary (Johor, Malaysia). Within this estuary, seagrasses form shoals at Tanjung Adang and Merambong. Organic carbon and ?13C values in bulk sediment were analysed by an elemental analyser and a continuous flow isotope-ratio mass spectrometer, respectively, while sediment IC data was derived from loss-on-ignition calculations of sample mass differences. The data from these samples are presented as downcore profile of OC (values range at 0.14% to 2.49%), IC (0.16% to 5.29%), ?13C values of organic matter (-27.9‰ to -20.4‰), and cumulative carbon stocks (1.03-3.39 kg OC m-2 and 0.76-2.84 kg IC m-2) in the top 30 cm of sediments. This dataset is applicable for regional and local blue carbon studies, which would allow insights into carbon sink and carbon cycling capacity, in addition to gaining insights into the provenances of carbon stored in seagrass meadows.

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References

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Published

10-04-2019

How to Cite

1.
Hidayah N, Tahirin SA, Fairoz M, Rozaimi M. Carbon stock and ?13C data of sediment samples collected from a tropical seagrass meadow in Malaysia. Plant Sci. Today [Internet]. 2019 Apr. 10 [cited 2024 Nov. 4];6(2):132-6. Available from: https://horizonepublishing.com/journals/index.php/PST/article/view/489

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Section

Research Data