Coastal SEES Collaborative Research: Effects of restoration and redevelopment on nitrogen dynamics in an urban coastal watershed

与城市化相关的过量氮是对全球沿海系统可持续性的严重威胁。由于过量的氮，美国一半以上的河口显示出不同程度的损害。随着为实现遵守新法规所需的营养减少而制定的计划的制定，人们对氮的担忧加剧。该项目将解决与城市河流和分水岭恢复工作对氮素动态的影响有关的关键不确定性。还将讨论影响执行这些努力的人、社会和经济因素。该项目结合了环境、社会和经济方面的见解，有可能改变全球对城市沿海可持续性的评估和管理。这项研究将建立在与巴尔的摩市和县的环境管理人员在水质和可持续性领域的持续关系的基础上。研究人员将通过面对面访谈、网络研讨会和研究总结，邀请来自市、县和州政府机构、非政府组织(如公园和人民基金会和巴尔的摩蓝水)以及当地社区团体的代表参与。研究小组还将发起一项公民科学努力，让居民收集与修复工作相关的害虫和垃圾的数据，并将确定作为公民科学家的参与是否会增加对修复实践的了解和热情。这一努力将直接解决许多巴尔的摩居民对与修复活动相关的犯罪、虫害生产和垃圾的担忧。其他更广泛的影响包括对研究生和本科生进行可持续性科学方面的培训。该项目作为国家科学基金会海岸科学、工程和可持续发展教育计划-海岸可持续发展计划的一部分得到支持。该项目将研究生物物理和社会科学因素之间的复杂相互作用，这些因素是城市化对沿海可持续发展影响的基础。在国家科学基金会资助的巴尔的摩城市长期生态研究(LTER)项目--巴尔的摩生态系统研究--的社会-生态耦合研究的基础上，这项工作将解决以下问题：溪流恢复和安装绿色基础设施在减少向海岸输送氮素方面的效率如何？这些影响很容易被基本卫生基础设施的退化所淹没吗？不同社会经济地位和距离海岸的沿海居民是否知道并关心接收水域的生态完整性？公民科学努力能增加居民对沿海水质的知识和兴趣吗？一个由生态学家、工程师、地理学家、社会学家和经济学家组成的团队将对巴尔的摩地区一系列新旧河流恢复项目的氮素效益和公众支持进行评估，并确定这些恢复和其他绿色基础设施干预措施的氮素效益是否在分水岭尺度的氮素质量平衡中显著和明显。该小组将评估利益攸关方在不同社会经济地位和离海岸距离不同的社区采用这些干预措施的意愿，并对溪流和分水岭恢复工作进行经济和政策分析。这些信息将被用来确定从城市到郊区建筑群中社会和生物物理因素汇聚的地区，以创造恢复和振兴的机会。

Excess nitrogen associated with urbanization is a critical threat to the sustainability of coastal systems across the globe. More than half of the estuaries in the United States show some level of impairment due to excess nitrogen. Concerns about nitrogen have intensified with the development of plans to achieve nutrient reductions required for compliance with new regulations. This project will resolve critical uncertainties related to the effects of urban stream and watershed restoration efforts on nitrogen dynamics. Human social and economic factors that affect the implementation of these efforts will also be addressed. The combined environmental, social and economic insights from this project have the potential to transform assessments and management of urban coastal sustainability across the globe. The research will build on ongoing relationships with environmental managers in Baltimore City and County in the areas of water quality and sustainability. Researchers will engage representatives from city, county and state government agencies; non-governmental organizations such as the Parks & People Foundation and Blue Water Baltimore; and local community groups through face-to-face interviews, webinars, and research summaries. The research team will also initiate a citizen science effort where residents collect data on pests and garbage associated with restoration efforts, and will determine whether participation as a citizen scientist increases knowledge of and enthusiasm for restoration practices. This effort will directly address concerns that many Baltimore residents have expressed about crime, pest production, and garbage associated with restoration activities. Additional broader impacts include training graduate and undergraduate students in sustainability science. This project is supported as part of the National Science Foundation's Coastal Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability program - Coastal SEES.This project will address the complex interactions between biophysical and social science factors that underlie the effects of urbanization on coastal sustainability. Building on the coupled socio-ecological research of the National Science Foundation funded Baltimore urban Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) project, the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, the work will address the following questions: How efficient are stream restoration and installation of green infrastructure in reducing nitrogen delivery to the coast? Are these effects easily overwhelmed by degradation of fundamental sanitary infrastructure? Do coastal residents of different socio-economic status and distance to the coast know and care about the ecological integrity of receiving waters? Can citizen science efforts increase resident knowledge and interest in coastal water quality? A team of ecologists, engineers, geographers, sociologists and economists will evaluate the nitrogen benefits and public support for a series of old and new stream restoration projects in the Baltimore area and determine if the nitrogen benefits of these restorations and other green infrastructure interventions are significant and visible in watershed-scale nitrogen mass balances. The group will assess the willingness of stakeholders to adopt these interventions in neighborhoods varying in socio-economic status and distance to the coast and carry out economic and policy analyses of stream and watershed restoration efforts. This information will be used to identify areas within the urban to exurban complex where social and biophysical factors converge to create opportunities for restoration and revitalization.