Sweet spots in the sea

Seagrass beds are important coastal ecosystems that absorb large amounts of carbon through photosynthesis, even though they cover only a small area of the ocean. They release part of this carbon into the sediment through their roots as sugars. Astonishingly, large amounts of sugar are found in their rhizosphere. The seagrasses probably release sugar as a kind of excess-metabolism. At the same time, phenols derived from seagrass prevent microorganisms in the oxygen-poor sediment from breaking down the sugar directly.