86a16fa6-8b6b-41d5-86c5-dd665bd36fee urn:uuid eng UTF-8 nonGeographicDataset nonGeographicDataset 2025-10-16T06:18:52 creation ISO 19115 2016 Microbial nutrient cycling in seagrass sediments 86a16fa6-8b6b-41d5-86c5-dd665bd36fee Seagrasses are specialised flowering plants with roots and vascular tissue. They differ from algae in that they can absorb and translocate nutrients from soft sediments. This provides seagrasses with access to the generally higher nutrient pools in sediments compared with the overlying water column. The interactions between seagrasses and the sediments surrounding their roots are important in nutrient cycling. Microbial flora in the seagrass rhizosphere form an intimate association with the seagrasses. In particular, nitrogen-fixing bacteria have a very close associationwith seagrass roots. Nitrogen fixed in the sediments can be found in seagrass leaves within hours, although seagrasses do not appear to have endosymbiotic associations like many terrestrial plants. Seagrasses influence the bacteria surrounding the roots via exudation of dissolved organic carbon and oxygen and through seagrass nutrient uptake. This association between seagrasses and bacteria affects both the rates and pool sizes of various elements in the sediments. Earth Sciences GA Publication Journal Published_External Journal article (pdf) documentDigital Journal article (pdf) PDF Unnamed resource documentDigital HTML