Effects of a nutrient enrichment pulse on blue carbon ecosystems

Coastal ecosystems are under increasing pressure from land-derived eutrophication in most developed coastlines worldwide. Here, we tested for 277 days the effects of a nutrient pulse on blue carbon retention and cycling within an Australian temperate coastal system. After 56 days of exposure, saltmarsh and mangrove plots subject to a high-nutrient treatment (~20 g N m^-2 yr^-1 and ~2 g P m^-2 yr^-1) had ~23% lower superficial soil carbon stocks. Mangrove plots also experienced a ~33% reduction in the microbe Amplicon Sequence Variant richness and a shift in community structure linked to elevated ammonium concentrations. Live plant cover, tea litter decomposition, and soil carbon fluxes (CO₂ and CH₄) were not significantly affected by the pulse. Before the end of the experiment, soil carbon- and nitrogen-cycling had returned to control levels, highlighting the significant but short-lived impact that a nutrient pulse can have on the carbon sink capacity of coastal wetlands.