Read the passage below carefully:
While tropical rainforests receive the most global recognition for carbon storage, coastal seagrass meadows along the West African shoreline sequester atmospheric carbon at rates up to thirty times faster per unit area. These submerged marine plants build thick, organic-rich sediment layers that remain intact for millennia unless disturbed. Beyond carbon capture, seagrass beds act as vital nurseries for commercially critical fish species, reduce coastal wave energy to curb shore erosion, and filter land-based nutrient runoff before it damages offshore coral structures. However, expanding coastal infrastructure, destructive benthic trawling, and agricultural discharge have severely degraded these fragile ecosystems in recent decades. Conservation efforts are now shifting from isolated marine protected areas to community-managed estuarine zones that integrate localized fishing quotas with seagrass replanting initiatives. Ultimately, preserving seagrass habitats is essential not merely as a local fisheries management tactic, but as an indispensable pillar of global climate mitigation and coastal resilience.
Which of the following best expresses the central thesis of the passage?
- ASeagrass beds serve primarily as essential nursery grounds for commercially valuable fish and natural filters for agricultural runoff.
- Preserving coastal seagrass habitats is vital because their immense carbon storage capacity and protective functions make them crucial for climate mitigation and coastal resilience.Cevap
- CTropical rainforests are far more effective per unit area at sequestering atmospheric carbon than coastal marine plant ecosystems.
- DCommunity-managed estuarine zones have successfully eliminated destructive benthic trawling and pollution across West Africa.