Seagrasses play an important role in coastal ecosystems. However, seagrass beds have been degraded in past decades due to several factors. Along Khanh Hoa province’s coastal areas is considered a place where large seagrass beds occur in high diversity. They have also been degraded seriously because of aquaculture, infrastructure, and development along the coastal line. This paper presents the results of two surveys in 2003 and 2006 about shoot density and biomass of seagrasses in Dam Tre, Dam Gia (Nha Trang Bay), southern My Giang and northern My Giang islands (Van Phong Bay). Results showed that biomass of seagrass surveyed in 2006 degraded remarkably compared with data in 2003. Biomass of seagrasses in Dam Gia and northern My Giang island have degraded up to 81.5% and 78.8%, respectively. Shoot density and biomass of some dominant species surveyed in 2003 and 2006 at 4 seagrass beds are presented in this paper.
Nguyen Xuan Vi
Marine Institute of Nha Trang
(Proceedings of 3rd National Scientific Conference on Ecology and Biological Resources, Hanoi 22th October 2009 - IEBR)