Collaborative Research: WSC-Category 1 - Linking freshwater inputs to ecosystem functioning and services provided by a large mangrove estuary

该项目将红树林河口的水平衡和碳预算与生态系统功能和服务（EF&amp；S）联系起来，同时制定将这一科学纳入区域水资源分配决策论坛的战略。研究区域是北美最大的红树林，位于大沼泽地国家公园（ENP）内。该项目的目标正在通过两个公开讲习班和一个重点实地实验来实现。该项目利用了佛罗里达沿海大沼泽地长期生态研究项目（FCE-LTER）和其他与大沼泽地恢复相关的项目正在进行的工作。第一个开放研讨会致力于评估红树林碳和水预算、河口提供的生态系统服务以及这些服务的经济价值之间的联系。本次研讨会汇集了水资源工程、气候学、红树林河口水动力学、碳循环、鱼类行为生态学、休闲渔业和大沼泽地恢复等领域的专家。研讨会参与者确定了评估红树林ef&s变化所需要的研究，这些变化是由淡水流量改变、海平面上升和气候变化引起的。分组会议的重点是更好地了解1)生态系统服务的经济价值，部分与碳固存能力有关；2)环境保护区内淡水投入与休闲捕鱼经济价值之间的联系，利用30多年的捕鱼实践记录。重点实地试验将调查水和碳循环之间的联系。在这个实验中，一种示踪剂沿着几个潮汐循环顺流而下。从标记的水柱中收集样本，测量溶解有机碳和无机碳的浓度和碳-13与碳-12的比率。溶解化合物的化学和同位素组成以及分子结构被用来区分淡水碳源和海洋碳源。同位素方法也被用来描述鱼类在淡水/咸水过渡区的觅食行为。自2004年以来，在该红树林进行了净生态系统-大气交换水汽和二氧化碳的涡动相关方差估算，为生态系统的水和碳收支提供了重要的约束条件。第二次公开讲习班的重点是发展一种经验和方法框架，以评估环境和生态系统的变化，并将结果纳入资源管理和恢复成本/效益分析。具体的重点放在理解无形的个人或社会价值如何影响决策比成本效益分析。因此，第二次研讨会在参与者专业知识和讨论点方面都比第一次研讨会范围更广。加强对热带红树林河口系统的水平衡和碳收支及其对管理、气候变化和海平面上升的依赖的了解，有助于保护红树林，并确保红树林所提供的包括碳固存、渔业支持、风暴防护、水净化和娱乐在内的可持续发展。正在考虑赋予这些服务的有形经济价值和不那么有形的个人或社会价值，以确定适当的管理战略和对诸如气候变化等有关的生态压力源的反应。因此，该项目是将红树林efs综合评估纳入区域水资源管理计划的第一步，该计划影响南佛罗里达州的600万居民和独特的生态系统，由于其低洼地形和广泛的沿海湿地，面临着海平面上升的重大风险。这个框架可以作为管理整个热带河口的模型，具有广泛的影响。佛罗里达国际大学和其他少数民族服务机构正在招募少数民族研究生参加这项研究。邀请初级调查人员参加并在讲习班中担任领导角色。项目的成果通过在不同场所（包括民间和环保组织以及政府机构）的演讲得到广泛传播。

Collaborative Research: WSC-Category 1 - Linking freshwater inputs toecosystem functioning and services provided by a large mangrove estuary This project links water balance and carbon budgets to Ecosystem Function and Services (EF&S) in a mangrove estuary while developing strategies for integrating this science into decision-making forums for allocating regional water resources. The study area is the largest mangrove forest in North America, which is located within Everglades National Park (ENP). The project's goals are being accomplished through two open workshops and a focused field experiment. The project leverages ongoing work by the Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term Ecological Research program (FCE-LTER) and other programs associated with Everglades restoration.The first open workshop is devoted to evaluating linkages between mangrove carbon and water budgets, the ecosystem services provided by the estuary, and the economic value of these services. This workshop brings together a diverse set of experts in water resources engineering, climatology, mangrove estuary hydrodynamics, carbon cycling, fish behavioral ecology, recreational fisheries, and Everglades restoration. Workshop participants identify research needed to assess changes in mangrove EF&S caused by altered freshwater discharge, sea level rise, and climate variability. Break-out sessions are focused on developing a better understanding of 1) the economic value of the ecosystem services, in part related to Carbon sequestration capacity and 2) linkages between freshwater inputs and the economic value of recreational fishing in ENP using a 30+ year record of fishing practices. The focused field experiment will investigate linkages between water and carbon cycles. In this experiment, a tracer is followed downstream through several tidal cycles. Samples from within the labeled water plume are collected to measure concentrations and Carbon-13 to Carbon-12 ratios of dissolved organic and inorganic Carbon. The chemical and isotopic composition and molecular structures of the dissolved compounds are used to differentiate between freshwater and marine carbon sources. Isotope approaches are also used to delineate fish foraging behavior along the fresh/saltwater transition zone. In this mangrove forest, eddy covariance estimates of net ecosystem-atmosphere exchange of water vapor and carbon dioxide have been made since 2004 and provide important constraints on the ecosystem water and carbon budgets. The second open workshop focuses on developing an empirical and methodological framework to assess changes in EF&S and on integrating the results into resource management and restoration cost/benefit analyses. Specific focus is placed on understanding how intangible personal or societal values may influence decision-making more than cost-benefit analyses. Thus, the second workshop has a broader scope in both participant expertise and discussion points than the first. Improved understanding of water balance and carbon budgets in tropical mangrove estuarine systems and their dependence on management, climate change, and sea level rise can help protect mangrove forests and ensure the continuation of EF&S they provide, including carbon sequestration, fisheries support, storm protection, water purification, and recreation. Tangible economic and less tangible personal or societal values placed on these services are being considered to determine the appropriate management strategies and responses to ecological stressors associated with, for example, a changing climate. Thus, this project represents a first step toward integrating a comprehensive evaluation of mangrove EF&S into the regional water resource management plan affecting the six million inhabitants and unique ecosystems of south Florida which, because of its low-lying topography and extensive coastal wetlands, faces significant risks from sea level rise. This framework can serve as a model for managing estuaries throughout the tropics, with far-ranging implications.Minority graduate students are being recruited from within Florida International University and other minority-serving institutions to participate in this study. Junior investigators are invited to participate and assume leadership roles in the workshops. Outcomes from the project are broadly disseminated through presentations at various venues, including civic and environmental organizations and government agencies.