Nitrification and denitrification in seagrass communities in Chwaka bay, Zanzibar

Sammanfattning: As a response to the environmental degradation of many coastal areas in east Africa research have been initiated aiming towards the understanding of the coastal ecosystems and the interactions between them. The sediment of three seagrass communities were investigated with regard to nitrification, denitrification, pore water nutrient content, organic content and physical character. The aim was to estimate the magnitude and importance of nitrification and denitrification and correlate those to any difference in organic load. Total organic carbon and total nitrogen decreased while C:N ratio increased with distance from the mangroves indicating a larger organic load closer to the mangroves. There was however no significant difference between the sites regarding ammonium and nitrate + nitrite concentrations in the porewater; nor regarding denitrification. Recalculated to ambient nitrate concentrations denitrification was less than 157 nmol N m-2h-1. No trend could be seen for nitrification either. Nitrification ranged from 0-12.0 µmol N m-2h-1, but the method used may underestimate the rates. Denitrification, and especially nitrification rates, varied considerably within each site indicating an extremely patchy environment. Considering that nutrient regeneration rates in tropical environments are usually high, nitrification and denitrification seemed to be minor pathways in the nitrogen cycle irrespective of organic load. The study also suggests that nitrification and denitrification may be of less importance in Chwaka bay compared to other areas studied.