Organic carbon storage in sediments of seagrass habitats in the lagoons of Lakshadweep Archipelago, west coast of India

Vegetated habitats like mangroves, seagrasses and saltmarshes capture and store carbon and act as carbon sinks. The carbon captured and stored in these habitats, especially in the below-ground sediments, is called blue carbon. We report the blue carbon storage potential of seagrass habitats from the lagoons of Agathi, Bangaram, Kavaratti, Kalpitti, Thinnakara and Parli Islands of the U.T. of Lakshadweep. Sediment core samples were collected in triplicate from 30 cm deep from six stations located in the lagoons and estimated the organic carbon content in the sediment samples. The mean C org ranged from 0.1863 (Bangaram) to 0.3453% (Thinnakara); while the dry bulk density was 0.9115 (Kalpitti) to 1.1174 g/cm 3 (Kavarathi). Of the six Islands studied for blue carbon storage, the Thinnakara lagoon registered the highest level of 0.9795 mgC/ha and the Bangarum lagoon showed the lowest rate of 0.3796 mgC/ ha. Very low organic carbon stock in these lagoons indicated an urgent need for restoring and reviving the seagrass meadows, which are shrinking rapidly.