Bioturbation of Burrowing Crabs Promotes Sediment Turnover and Carbon and Nitrogen Movements in an Estuarine Salt Marsh

Ecological functions of bioturbation in ecosystems have received increasing attention over the recent decades, and crab burrowing has been considered as one of the major bioturbations affecting the physical and chemical processes in salt marshes. This study assessed the integrated effects of crab excavating and burrow mimic trapping on sediment turnover and vertical C and N distributions in a Chinese salt marsh in the Yangtze River estuary. Crab burrowing increased soil water content and the turnover of carbon and nitrogen and decreased bulk soil density. Vertical movement of materials, nutrient cycling and reuse driven by crab burrowing might be obstructed by vegetation (Phragmites australis and Spartina alterniflora communities). The amount of soil excavated by crab burrowing was higher than that deposited into burrow mimics. In Phragmites marshes, Spartina marshes and unvegetated mudflats, net transport of soil to the marsh surface was 171.73, 109.54, and 374.95 g m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively; and the corresponding estimated soil turnover time was 2.89, 4.07 and 1.83 years, respectively. Crab burrowing in salt marshes can mix surface and deeper soil over a period of years, accelerating litter decomposition and promoting the efficient reuse of nutrients by plants. Therefore, bioturbation affects soil physical processes and functioning of ecosystems, and needs to be addressed in ecosystem management.