Host: UB
Name of the event: GEOMARE Speeches 2025
Place: Barcelona, Spain
Date: 13/11/2025
Partners involved: ICM-CSIC
Carbon sequestration is an Ecosystem Service (ES) that also provides information on the condition of the ecosystem. This study comprised an environmental characterisation of a shallow coastal shelf off SW Tenerife (Canary Islands), a calculation of the benthic biomass developed, (and therefore, the blue carbon generated), and identification of the biodiversity and the ES provided by the monitoring station over 18 months. Furthermore, 46 species belonging to 11 phyla were identified during the different monitoring dives. The ES provided by the monitoring station included primary production, biodiversity maintenance (supporting ecosystem service), carbon sequestration, fish nursery and shelter (regulating ecosystem service). The environmental conditions (physical, chemical and biological) at the studied site were not a limiting factor for the benthic biomass development. The amount of blue carbon generated was lower compared to the main blue carbon ecosystem and the high-latitude (polar) ecosystems, but similar to the gorgonian-based ecosystems. The present study demonstrates that the site is a good candidate for benthic ecosystem restoration efforts due to its provision of multiple ES.
Contribution OC project: This oral presentation contributed to OC project, to show the results of the first 18 months of the project carried out in Tenerife, to an audience mainly composed of predoctoral researchers.