Abstract

The seagrass meadows, commonly known as the lungs of the sea, are important coastal ecosystems that provide many environmental services, such as habitat for marine life, improved water quality, and reduced climate change through carbon sequestration. These ecosystems are facing threats from human activities, including coastal development, pollution, and climate change, despite their important role in the economy. This research paper will determine the ecosystem services offered by seagrass meadows with particular reference to their contribution to biodiversity support, carbon sequestration, and coastal protection. The research methodology involved is an ecological evaluation integrated with biophysical modeling as well as economic evaluation approaches. The ecological processes used were biodiversity and water quality observation, whereas carbon sequestration and sediment stabilization were assessed by using biophysical models. Contingent and market-based methods were used to carry out economic valuation to estimate the monetary value of the ecosystem services provided. The findings have shown that seagrass meadows trap in excess of 0.5 million tons of carbon per year, thus playing an important role in mitigating climate change. Also, seagrass meadows enhance water quality by filtering surplus nutrients and pollutants and mitigating risks of eutrophication by up to 30 %. In addition to this, the meadows also curb the problem of coastal erosion by stabilizing the sediments and also minimizing the effect of storm surges. Nevertheless, there are threats to these ecosystems, as continue to degrade due to developments at the coastline and pollution. The paper highlights the necessity of conservation and restoration approaches and suggests combined management approaches and multinational cooperation in the preservation of such endangered ecosystems. These results point to the significance of seagrass meadows to the health of coastal ecosystems as well as climate change reduction.

Keywords: Seagrass meadows, Ecosystem services, Carbon sequestration, Biodiversity, Water quality, Coastal protection, Climate change, Marine ecosystems