Abstract
Although it may not be readily apparent to the casual observer, intertidal and subtidal sediments are highly structured chemical environments. In the absence of physical disturbances, the chemical structure is simple and consists of layers of gradually changing composition parallel to the sediment—water interface. Benthic animals and rooted plants disrupt this simple structure by burrowing into the sediment or by growing roots. This affects the rates of transport of gases, solutes and particulate matter within the sediment and between the sediment and the overlying water.
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Vale, C., Sundby, B. (1998). The interactions between living organisms and metals in intertidal and subtidal sediments. In: Langston, W.J., Bebianno, M.J. (eds) Metal Metabolism in Aquatic Environments. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2761-6_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2761-6_2
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