Seagrasses are highly productive ecosystems and hotspots for biodiversity, providing a plethora of benefits to the environment and to people. Their value in sequestering and storing carbon is increasingly being recognised, as the world searches for ways to mitigate the effects and slow the pace of climate change. However, many uncertainties remain, with basic information such as average carbon stocks, variability and species-specific differences missing for many regions. This study evaluates, for the first time, the carbon storage capacity of Zostera noltii and Zostera marina from intertidal seagrass meadows in Scotland. Sediment carbon stocks in the top 50 cm from vegetated and reference unvegetated plots were quantified at 10 estuaries distributed along the Scottish east and west coasts. The organic carbon stocks in the top 50 cm of the seagrass sediment ranged from a minimum of 14.94 Mg C ha⁻¹ at the Moray Firth to a maximum of 105.72 Mg C ha⁻¹ at the Firth of Forth, with a mean (±SD) of 54.79 ± 35.02 Mg C ha⁻¹ across the 10 estuaries sampled. Moreover, seagrass areas showed enhanced carbon storage compared to reference unvegetated ones, however this was highly variable across depth, and among sites and estuaries. This paper addresses key gaps in knowledge concerning the role of intertidal Scottish seagrass meadows as carbon sinks and discusses the implication of this emerging information for their effective management and conservation.

海草是高产的生态系统和生物多样性的热点，为环境和人类带来了诸多好处。随着世界寻求减轻影响并减缓气候变化步伐的方法，它们在固存和储存碳方面的价值越来越得到认可。然而，许多不确定因素仍然存在，许多地区缺少诸如平均碳储量、变异性和物种特异性差异等基本信息。本研究首次评估了Zostera noltii和Zostera marina的碳储存能力来自苏格兰的潮间带海草草地。在沿苏格兰东海岸和西海岸分布的 10 个河口中，对植被和参考无植被地块前 50 厘米的沉积物碳库进行了量化。海草沉积物顶部 50 cm 的有机碳储量范围从海鳗湾的最低 14.94 Mg C ha ^-1到福斯湾的最高 105.72 Mg C ha ^-1  ，平均值（±SD ) 54.79 ± 35.02 Mg C ha ^-1跨越10个河口采样。此外，与参考的无植被区域相比，海草区域的碳储存量有所增加，但这在不同深度、不同地点和河口之间差异很大。本文解决了有关潮间带苏格兰海草草甸作为碳汇作用的知识方面的关键空白，并讨论了这一新兴信息对其有效管理和保护的意义。