Braeckman, U.

De Borger, E.

Soetaert, K.

Toussaint, E.

Vanaverbeke, J.

Open Marine Archive

 113 
How is benthic biogeochemical cycling affected by sediment fining 
arising from human activities? 
Toussaint Elise
1-2
, Braeckman Ulrike
2
, De Borger Emil
2-3
, Soetaert Karline
3
 and Vanaverbeke Jan
1-3 
1
  MARECO, Operational Directorate Natural Environment, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 
Rue Vautier 29, 1000 Brussels, Belgium 
 E-mail: etoussaint@naturalsciences.be 
2
  Marine Biology Research Group, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281, 9000 
Ghent, Belgium 
3
  Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research- NIOZ, Korringaweg 7, 4401 NT Yerseke, Pays-Bas 
 
Several human activities, for instance the installation of offshore windfarms (OWFs) or sand extraction, 
are disturbing coastal areas in the Belgian Part of the North Sea (BPNS) causing pressures such as the 
fining and the hardening of the sediment. Those pressures might have an impact on benthic 
ecosystem functioning and thus on the services they provide (e.g. carbon storage, nutrients 
availability). 
 
This study investigates the impact of those pressures on the benthic biogeochemical cycling. Using 
stirring chambers, we ran closed-core sediment incubations with samples collected in August 2016 
at different stations along a gradient of sediment permeability (cohesive and permeable sediments). 
We calculated fluxes of oxygen, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and nutrients across the sediment 
water interface and linked it to the macrofaunal activities (bioturbation, bio-irrigation). Our results 
show that cohesive sediments have higher oxygen consumption, and DIC and ammonia (NHx) effluxes 
compared to permeable sediments. Lower oxygen consumption, DIC and NHx effluxes where 
observed when permeable sediments were subjected to anthropogenic fining as a consequence of 
sand extraction compared to undisturbed permeable sediments. This result is also associated with a 
lower bioturbation. 
 
Mass budget modeling will allow for quantification of the mineralization and coupled 
nitrification/denitrification processes at each station. By doing so, the effect of anthropogenic 
activities and associated pressures on benthic ecosystem will be assessed. 
 
Keywords: ecosystem functioning; nutrients fluxes; bio-irrigation; bioturbation; oxygen consumption; 
mineralization; nitrification; denitrification 
 
  


How is benthic biogeochemical cycling affected by sediment fining arising from human activities?

http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/311650.pdf

How is benthic biogeochemical cycling affected by sediment fining arising from human activities?

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