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

沿海流域的森林砍伐正在整个热带地区发生，改变了向红树林河口和沿海海洋的水、营养物质和沉积物的运输。这是因为陆地流域的土地利用变化与沿着地形梯度接收的水生生态系统之间存在强大的耦合关系。本研究采用创新的多学科生态、水文和生物地球化学方法，沿着巴拿马的六个样带进行研究，从遭受不同程度森林砍伐的流域到沿海红树林。这种布局将能够检验有关森林砍伐与红树林生态系统功能的假设。研究结果将为研究海岸带是如何组织的以及人类活动是如何重组自然耦合提供新的视角。这项工作将在液体丛林实验室进行，这是一个允许在偏远地区进行现代研究的研究站。这项工作的更广泛影响包括确定热带沿海地区毗邻红树林的土地使用做法与条件之间的联系。研究结果将为评估毁林对沿海红树林生态系统的影响提供所需的信息，这些生态系统提供一系列具有经济价值的生态服务，如鱼类和贝类苗圃、陆地来源营养物质的拦截、富含能源的材料的出口、海岸线的稳定、生物多样性的维持和各种可收获产量。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、演示文稿和新项目能够通过数字、印刷和口头手段将成果传递给当地人民、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.