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Budgeting for the future: estimating a blue carbon budget and exploring ex situ restoration of Zostera capensis in Langebaan Lagoon
Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2025.
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2025
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| _version_ | 1867614037997518848 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Bossert, Aidan |
| author2 | Von der Heyden, Sophie |
| author_browse | Bossert, Aidan Von der Heyden, Sophie |
| author_facet | Von der Heyden, Sophie Bossert, Aidan |
| author_sort | Bossert, Aidan |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132080 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:45:40.774Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132080 Budgeting for the future: estimating a blue carbon budget and exploring ex situ restoration of Zostera capensis in Langebaan Lagoon Bossert, Aidan Von der Heyden, Sophie Ndhlovu, Andrew Watson, Katie Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Science. Dept. of Botany and Zoology. Eelgrass -- Habitat -- South Africa -- Langebaan Lagoon Seagrass restoration -- Monitoring -- South Africa -- Langebaan Lagoon Zostera capensis -- Ecology -- South Africa -- Langebaan Lagoon Carbon sequestration Blue carbon -- Estimates Plants -- Carbon content UCTD Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. Bossert, A. 2025. Budgeting for the future: estimating a blue carbon budget and exploring ex situ restoration of Zostera capensis in Langebaan Lagoon. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/c1db0fb8-63d7-4bf1-8a9a-5c13b5a20694 ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Globally, seagrass meadows are one of the most valuable natural systems, as they provide a multitude of key ecosystems services such as water filtration, habitat provision and carbon sequestration. However, increasing anthropogenic stressors threaten the functionality of seagrasses within coastal systems through ongoing population declines. Quantifying seagrass carbon stocks showcases the important role these meadows play in climate change mitigation and highlights a key reason for ensuring their conservation, especially considering that these stocks could be included in the national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory. The establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) could prove to be an effective means of safeguarding seagrass meadow carbon stocks but many countries, including South Africa, lack baseline data to conduct such an assessment. In South Africa, the conservation of the endangered Cape-dwarf eelgrass (Zostera capensis) will require more than the establishment of MPAs. The active restoration of degraded seagrass meadows is urgently required to protect this species and its ecosystem services. In situ restoration of Z. capensis has previously been successfully trialled in Langebaan Lagoon, the focus of this study, but reversing population losses will require the upscaling of restoration projects. The implementation of future large scale restoration efforts will likely require a substantial amount of funding, with carbon crediting schemes potentially serving as an important funding mechanism to offset seagrass restoration costs. This thesis aimed to evaluate the carbon storage capacity of seagrass meadows within the Langebaan Lagoon MPA and provide insights on how to safeguard seagrass ecosystems services through ex situ restoration techniques. Additionally, the potential to include seagrass in the South African GHG inventory was assessed and carbon trading was explored as a means to fund the upscaling of future restoration projects. In Chapter One, the average sedimentary carbon stock of Langebaan Lagoon, up until 50 cm, was estimated at 8.15 ± 3.77 Mg C ha-1 and was found to vary across spatial gradients but demonstrated homogeneity across a four-month temporal time scale. In Chapter Two, ex situ mariculture was trialled as a means to upscale seagrass restoration, where the growth of Z. capensis cores of two sizes (5 and 10 cm diameters) was assessed for 195 days. Seagrass leaf lengths and shoot densities more than doubled between 100 – 124 days, with the larger core size demonstrating increased growth. Chapter Three pinpointed Langebaan Lagoon as a potential site for South Africa’s first ever seagrass carbon trading project and found that the requirements for integrating seagrass into the national GHG inventory have not been met. However, it was determined that Knysna Estuary could act as South Africa’s first seagrass GHG inventory contributory site. The findings of this thesis offers insights into the importance of preserving seagrass ecosystems and provides a roadmap to ensure seagrass ecosystem services are safeguarded into the future. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen opsomming beskikbaar. Masters 2025-05-22T12:22:50Z 2025-05-22T12:22:50Z 2025-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132080 Stellenbosch University 109 pages : illustrations (some color), maps application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Eelgrass -- Habitat -- South Africa -- Langebaan Lagoon Seagrass restoration -- Monitoring -- South Africa -- Langebaan Lagoon Zostera capensis -- Ecology -- South Africa -- Langebaan Lagoon Carbon sequestration Blue carbon -- Estimates Plants -- Carbon content UCTD Bossert, Aidan Budgeting for the future: estimating a blue carbon budget and exploring ex situ restoration of Zostera capensis in Langebaan Lagoon |
| title | Budgeting for the future: estimating a blue carbon budget and exploring ex situ restoration of Zostera capensis in Langebaan Lagoon |
| title_full | Budgeting for the future: estimating a blue carbon budget and exploring ex situ restoration of Zostera capensis in Langebaan Lagoon |
| title_fullStr | Budgeting for the future: estimating a blue carbon budget and exploring ex situ restoration of Zostera capensis in Langebaan Lagoon |
| title_full_unstemmed | Budgeting for the future: estimating a blue carbon budget and exploring ex situ restoration of Zostera capensis in Langebaan Lagoon |
| title_short | Budgeting for the future: estimating a blue carbon budget and exploring ex situ restoration of Zostera capensis in Langebaan Lagoon |
| title_sort | budgeting for the future estimating a blue carbon budget and exploring ex situ restoration of zostera capensis in langebaan lagoon |
| topic | Eelgrass -- Habitat -- South Africa -- Langebaan Lagoon Seagrass restoration -- Monitoring -- South Africa -- Langebaan Lagoon Zostera capensis -- Ecology -- South Africa -- Langebaan Lagoon Carbon sequestration Blue carbon -- Estimates Plants -- Carbon content UCTD |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132080 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bossertaidan budgetingforthefutureestimatingabluecarbonbudgetandexploringexsiturestorationofzosteracapensisinlangebaanlagoon |