SGER: The Impact of Hurricanes on Native Plants

与大多数生态系统相比，湿地支持的物种多样性更高，并具有许多重要功能，包括保护鱼类和野生动物、营养循环和防洪。美国大约30%的植物生活在湿地中，而湿地仅占陆地面积的5%。在30天内袭击同一地理区域的两个主要飓风几乎是史无前例的，就像2005年夏天发生的卡特里娜和丽塔飓风一样。路易斯安那州的湿地受到洪水和咸水入侵的重创。该项目将评估对当地植物的损害程度，并确定受影响的植物种群从严重干扰中恢复的能力。

Wetlands support a higher diversity of species than most ecosystems and have many important functions including sheltering fish and wildlife, nutrient cycling, and flood protection. Roughly 30 percent of the nation's plant life is contained by wetlands that encompass only 5 percent of the land area. It is virtually unprecedented for two major hurricanes to strike the same geographic region within 30 days, as occurred in the summer of 2005 with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Louisiana wetlands were particularly hard-hit by flooding and saltwater intrusion. This project will assess the extent of the damage to native plants and determine the ability of impacted plant populations to recover from the severe disturbance.