Collaborative Research: Effects of tropical watershed deforestation on mangrove ecosystem function and services

整个热带地区都在砍伐沿海分水岭，改变了水、营养物质和沉积物向红树林河口和沿海海洋的运输。这是因为高地集水区的土地利用变化与地形坡度下的水生生态系统的接收之间存在强大的耦合。这项研究使用了创新的多学科生态、水文和生物地球化学方法，沿着巴拿马的六个样带，从遭受不同程度森林砍伐的集水区到沿海红树林。这种布局将能够测试与红树林生态系统功能有关的森林砍伐假说。结果将提供一个新的视角，了解沿海地区是如何组织的，以及人类活动如何重新洗牌自然耦合。这项工作将在液体丛林实验室进行，这是一个研究站，允许在偏远的环境中进行现代研究。这项工作的广泛影响包括定义热带沿海地区毗邻红树林的土地利用做法和条件之间的联系。结果将提供必要的信息，用于评估森林砍伐对沿海红树林生态系统的影响，这些生态系统提供一系列有经济价值的生态服务，如鱼类和贝类苗圃、拦截陆源营养物质、出口能源丰富的材料、稳定海岸线、维持生物多样性和各种可收获产量。一项教育和推广计划将侧重于培训美国和拉丁美洲的博士后、研究生和本科生。与巴拿马和阿根廷同事的密切合作将使双语网站、演示文稿和新项目成为可能，帮助将成果通过数字、印刷和口头方式传递给当地人民、管理人员、决策者和科学同事。

Deforestation of coastal watersheds is occurring throughout the tropics, altering transport of water, nutrients and sediments to mangrove estuaries and coastal oceans. This occurs because of powerful couplings linking land use changes on upland watersheds to receiving aquatic ecosystems down the topographical gradient. This research uses innovative multidisciplinary ecological, hydrological and biogeochemical approaches along six transects in Panama from watersheds subject to different degrees of deforestation to coastal mangroves. This layout will enable testing of hypotheses relating deforestation to functioning of mangrove ecosystems. Results will provide a fresh view of how coastal zones are organized and how human activities reshuffle natural couplings. The work will be based in the Liquid Jungle Laboratory, a research station that permits doing modern research in a remote setting.Broader impacts of the work include definition of the connections between land use practices and conditions in adjoining mangroves in tropical coastal areas. Results will furnish information needed for assessing impacts of deforestation on coastal mangrove ecosystems that provide a series of economically valuable ecological services, such as fish and shellfish nurseries, interception of land derived nutrients, export of energy rich materials, stabilization of shorelines, maintenance of biodiversity, and various harvestable yields. An education and outreach program will focus on training U.S. and Latin American postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate students. Strong collaborations with Panamanian and Argentine colleagues will enable bilingual websites, presentations and new programs to help transfer results to local people, managers, decision-makers, and scientific colleagues by digital, printed and oral means.