Abstract

The Java Sea acts as a carbon source that contributes to the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The blue carbon ecosystems in the Karimunjawa Islands may absorb and store the carbon released from the Java Sea. The carbon stock in Kemujan Island (Karimunjawa Islands), one of these blue carbon ecosystems, was previously estimated using a remote sensing approach. In the present study, we investigated the carbon stock in the seagrass bed at Kemujan Island by conducting field observations and laboratory analysis. The result shows that there are only two seagrass species in the study area—‘Enhalus acoroides’ and ‘Thalassia hemprichii’—which are categorized as nearly dense and very dense, respectively. Regarding the carbon biomass, the carbon stock below the substrate is more than that above the substrate. However, the carbon stock in the seagrass biomass is less than in the sediment. The average carbon stock in the seagrass bed at Kemujan Island is 4901.91 g C/m2, which is much more than the amount estimated by means of remote sensing. Furthermore, this amount is much larger compared with the average carbon stock of other areas in the Karimunjawa Islands. The large amount of carbon stock stored in the seagrass bed at Kemujan Island denotes the role of this seagrass bed as a carbon sink area.