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

在海平面持续上升的背景下，飓风会影响沿海景观。该项目将检验这样一种假设，即风和高水位对生态系统的破坏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，阿拉巴马州的威克斯湾国家河口研究保护区（WBNERR），正在经历海平面的长期上升。飓风伊万（2004）造成了风灾和中等盐度的风暴潮。卡特里娜飓风（2005）造成了长时间的高盐度风暴潮和沉积物的广泛重新分布。伊万飓风前后的植被调查和伊万飓风后/卡特里娜飓风前的沉积物岩心提供了基线数据。不同海拔的沉积物将重新取芯，以评估生物物理变化。植被的变化将在从河口沼泽到陆地森林的横断面沿线的永久样地以及在遭受强烈风/水破坏的局部地区进行测量。本研究将全球气候变化科学与海岸扰动生态学相结合，为飓风和海平面上升沿海地区的实际恢复与管理提供理论依据。在与WBNERR的合作下，研究结果将传播给专业观众，每年将有5000名参观者了解飓风和全球气候变化对墨西哥湾沿岸栖息地的相互影响。

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.