Carbon budgets from mariculture ponds without a food supply

ABSTRACT: To estimate the carbon source-sink function of mariculture ponds without a food supply, we analyzed carbon budgets and gaseous carbon fluxes in shrimp Marsupenaeus japonicus-sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus polyculture seawater ponds (PSPs) without feeding. Over a 1 yr cycle, the total organic carbon outflow accounted for 78.6% of the inflow organic carbon in PSPs. Approximately 1558.1 kg ha-1 of organic carbon accumulated in PSPs, and the ratio of gaseous carbon exchange to carbon burial ranged from 0.73 to 1.45. The PSPs acted as a purification system where organic carbon is eliminated from the inflow water, and carbon retention in the sediment of such systems could offset their carbon emissions into the atmosphere.