LTREB: Twenty-three years of tidal marsh response to environmental change

LTREB：二十三年潮汐沼泽对环境变化的反应

• 批准号: 0950080
• 负责人: Jonathan Langley
• 金额: $ 41.37万
• 依托单位: Smithsonian Institution
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-05-15 至 2016-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0950080&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: LTREB; Twenty; three; years; tidal

The primary scientific objective of this project is to unravel how elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide, nitrogen pollution, climate change, sea-level rise and plant invasion interact to control the sustainability of tidal marsh ecosystems. The wealth of long-term global change research at the study site affords an unprecedented comparison of the relative importance of these factors. This twenty-three year record of global change has shown that effects that appear important in the short term may be obviated or reversed when longer-term trends are considered. The central hypothesis is that changes in plant community composition will mediate the most important effects of global change on ecosystem sustainability. To address this, the researchers will extend the record of ongoing global change treatments, continue monitoring ecosystem response and initiate new experimentation with plant communities. The information garnered from the proposed research will inform management practices aimed at protecting and restoring coastal wetlands. Tidal wetlands make up the ecological fabric of coastal and estuarine ecosystems providing ecosystem services such as nourishing food chains, filtering water and protecting coastal populations. The most important ecosystem endpoint is soil elevation gain, because tidal marshes must gain soil to keep up with sea-level rise. Otherwise, the marsh will be converted to open water and the critical ecosystem services will be irreversibly lost. This interdisciplinary project will train researchers at all levels and inform the public about the critical issues of sea level rise and elevated carbon dioxide. Six undergraduate students will be involved in the project, and the study site hosts thousands of elementary and high school aged students through intensive science camps.

该项目的主要科学目标是揭示大气二氧化碳浓度升高、氮污染、气候变化、海平面上升和植物入侵如何相互作用，以控制潮汐沼泽生态系统的可持续性。在研究地点进行的大量长期全球变化研究为这些因素的相对重要性提供了前所未有的比较。这23年的全球变化记录表明，在考虑长期趋势时，短期内似乎很重要的影响可能会被消除或逆转。核心假设是植物群落组成的变化将介导全球变化对生态系统可持续性的最重要影响。为了解决这个问题，研究人员将扩大正在进行的全球变化处理的记录，继续监测生态系统的反应，并开始对植物群落进行新的实验。从拟议的研究中获得的信息将为旨在保护和恢复沿海湿地的管理实践提供信息。潮汐湿地构成了沿海和河口生态系统的生态结构，提供生态系统服务，如滋养食物链、过滤水和保护沿海人口。最重要的生态系统终点是土壤海拔增加，因为潮汐沼泽必须增加土壤以跟上海平面上升。否则，沼泽将变成开放水域，关键的生态系统服务将不可逆转地丧失。这一跨学科项目将培训各级研究人员，并向公众宣传海平面上升和二氧化碳浓度升高等关键问题。六名本科生将参与该项目，研究地点通过密集的科学营接待数千名小学和高中年龄的学生。