Collaborative LTREB: Experimental and Observational Studies of Mangrove Forest Structure and Gap Dynamics

这项拟议中的研究将继续对巴拿马加勒比海岸红树林的再生进行长期调查。红树林是沿热带海岸线的主要植被类型，栖息着一种独特的动物和植物，通常分布在沿潮汐梯度的地带。红树林还为人类提供资源和服务，包括为收获的甲壳类动物和鱼类提供苗圃，保护海岸线，以及捕获高地地区径流中携带的沉积物和污染物。由于与资源开发（如水产养殖、采矿）和发展相关的森林砍伐，它们现在是最受威胁的沿海栖息地之一。在研究区域，红树林的结构和动态是闪电形成的不同年龄的树冠缝隙马赛克更新的产物。本研究采用长期观察和实地实验来确定影响扰动后红树林更新模式的机制和红树林物种沿潮汐梯度的分布。这是迄今为止进行的最全面的红树林群落生态学研究之一。除了增强我们对非生物和生物过程对森林动态的贡献的一般理解外，它还为预测和修复危及这些宝贵湿地的人为变化提供了重要信息。该项目为众多大学生提供了研究经验，并支持史密森尼Galeta海洋实验室的环境教育项目。

The proposed research continues a long-term investigation of regeneration in mangrove forests on Panama's Caribbean coast. Mangrove forests are a dominant vegetation type along tropical shorelines and are inhabited by a unique fauna and flora that are often distributed in zones along the tidal gradient. Mangroves also provide resources and services to humans, including nursery grounds for harvested crustaceans and fishes, shoreline protection, and trapping of sediments and pollutants carried in runoff from upland areas. They are now among the most threatened of coastal habitats due to deforestation associated with resource exploitation (e.g. aquaculture, mining) and development. In the study area, mangrove forest structure and dynamics are the products of regeneration across a mosaic of differently aged canopy gaps created by lightning. This study employs long-term observations and field experiments to identify the mechanisms that determine patterns of regeneration following disturbance and the distributions of mangrove species along the tidal gradient. This is one of the most comprehensive studies of mangrove community ecology ever conducted. In addition to enhancing our general understanding of the contributions of abiotic and biotic processes to forest dynamics, it is providing vital information for predicting and remediating human-caused alterations that endanger these valuable wetlands. The project provides research experience to numerous university students, and supports the environmental education program at Smithsonian's Galeta Marine Laboratory.