SGER Collaborative Research: Do Hurricanes Spur Responses of Coastal Communities to Changing Sea Level?

飓风在海平面持续上升的情况下影响沿海景观。该项目将检验一种假设，即风和高水位造成的生态系统解体与风暴潮和海平面上升造成的盐度增加相互作用，影响植物和相关菌根真菌的再生，导致物种分布向陆地转移和生态系统的重组。研究地点位于亚拉巴马的周湾国家河口研究保护区（WBNERR），正在经历长期的海平面上升。伊万飓风（2004年）造成风灾和中等盐度的风暴潮。卡特里娜飓风（2005年）造成了广泛的高盐度风暴潮和广泛的沉积物重新分布。伊万前/后植被调查和伊万后/卡特里娜前沉积物岩心提供了基线数据。将对不同海拔的沉积物重新取芯，以评估生物物理变化。将在从河口沼泽地到陆地森林的沿着的永久样地和在遭受严重风/水损害的局部地区测量植被的变化。通过将全球气候变化科学与沿海干扰生态学相结合，这项研究将促进经历飓风和海平面上升的沿海地区的实际恢复和管理。与WBNERR合作，将向专业受众传播成果，每年将有5 000名游客了解飓风和全球气候变化对墨西哥湾沿着生境的相互影响。

Hurricanes affect coastal landscapes in the context of ongoing sea-level rise. This project will test the hypothesis that disassembly of ecosystems from winds and high water interacts with increased salinity from storm-surges and sea-level rise to influence regeneration by plants and associated mycorrhizal fungi, causing landward shifts in species distributions and reassembly of ecosystems. The study site, Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (WBNERR), Alabama, is experiencing chronic sea-level rise. Hurricane Ivan (2004) caused wind damage and a moderate-salinity storm-surge. Hurricane Katrina (2005) caused an extended high-salinity storm-surge and extensive redistribution of sediments. Pre/post-Ivan vegetation surveys and post-Ivan/pre-Katrina sediment cores provide baseline data. Sediments at different elevations will be re-cored to assess biophysical changes. Changes in vegetation will be measured in permanent plots along transects from estuarine marshes to terrestrial forests and in local areas of intense wind/water damage. By combining global climate change science with coastal disturbance ecology, this research will facilitate practical restoration and management in coastal areas experiencing hurricanes and sea level rise. In collaboration with WBNERR, results will be disseminated to professional audiences and will expose 5,000 visitors annually to interactive effects of hurricanes and global climate change on coastal habitats along the Gulf of Mexico.