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

拟议中的研究继续对巴拿马加勒比海沿岸红树林的再生进行长期调查。 红树林是沿着热带海岸线的主要植被类型，有独特的动植物植物群居住，它们往往分布在沿着潮汐梯度的地带。 红树林还为人类提供资源和服务，包括收获的甲壳类动物和鱼类的育苗场，海岸线保护，以及捕获高地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）和发展有关的毁林，它们现在是最受威胁的沿海生境之一。 在研究区域，红树林的结构和动态是由闪电造成的不同年龄的冠层间隙的镶嵌再生的产物。 本研究采用长期观测和野外实验，以确定的机制，确定更新模式的干扰和红树林物种的分布沿着潮汐梯度。这是迄今为止对红树林群落生态学进行的最全面的研究之一。 除了提高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，它还为预测和补救危及这些宝贵湿地的人为改变提供了重要信息。 该项目为众多大学生提供研究经验，并支持史密森尼加莱塔海洋实验室的环境教育计划。

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.