The end of resilience: Surpassed nitrogen thresholds in coastal waters led to severe seagrass loss after decades of exposure to aquaculture effluents.

Although eutrophication is considered a major driver for global seagrass loss with aquaculture effluents being a main factor, little is known about the effect on seagrass meadows in eastern Asia and their resilience to long-term nutrient impact. Seagrass meadows impacted by land-based aquaculture since the 1990s, were visited in 2008/2009 and revisited after another 9 years of effluent exposure. During that period seagrass aboveground biomass declined by 87%.