Fig. 4: Spatial distribution of sediment property, bottom-trawling intensity and simulated change of benthic faunal biomass and OC content in the North Sea surface sediments.
From: Long-term carbon storage in shelf sea sediments reduced by intensive bottom trawling
a, Mean mud content (%) in the upper 10 cm sediment, with marked large-scale mud depocentres. b, Synthesized annual SAR averaged over the period of 2015–2020. The contour line of SAR = 1 yr−1 is indicated. c,d, Ensemble-averaged trawling-induced relative changes in macrobenthos biomass (c) and sedimentary OC (d) after 50 years. Positive and negative values refer to increase and reduction in percentage, respectively.
