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对全球沿海系统的可持续性构成严重威胁。美国超过一半的河口由于过量的氮而出现一定程度的损害。随着为遵守新条例而制定计划以实现所需的营养减少，人们对氮的关切日益加剧。该项目将解决与城市河流和流域恢复工作对氮动力学影响相关的关键不确定性。还将讨论影响这些努力执行的人类、社会和经济因素。该项目综合的环境、社会和经济见解有可能改变全球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方面的持续关系的基础上。研究人员将与市、县和州政府机构的代表接触；Parks & People Foundation和Blue Water Baltimore等非政府组织；通过面对面的访谈、网络研讨会和研究总结，与当地社区团体合作。研究小组还将启动一项公民科学工作，让居民收集与修复工作有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认识和热情。这一努力将直接解决许多巴尔的摩居民对与修复活动有关的犯罪、害虫生产和垃圾的担忧。其他更广泛的影响包括培养研究生和本科生的可持续性科学。该项目是美国国家科学基金会海岸科学、工程和教育可持续发展项目的一部分。该项目将探讨生物物理和社会科学因素之间复杂的相互作用，这些因素是城市化对沿海可持续性影响的基础。在美国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——的耦合社会生态研究的基础上，这项工作将解决以下问题：溪流恢复和绿色基础设施的安装在减少向海岸输送氮方面的效率如何？这些影响是否容易被基本卫生基础设施的退化所抵消？不同社会经济地位和距离海岸的沿海居民是否了解和关心接收水域的生态完整性？公民科学的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评估巴尔的摩地区一系列新旧溪流恢复项目的氮效益和公众支持，并确定这些恢复和其他绿色基础设施干预措施的氮效益是否显著，并在流域尺度氮质量平衡中可见。该小组将评估利益相关者在不同社会经济地位和距离海岸不同的社区采取这些干预措施的意愿，并对河流和流域恢复工作进行经济和政策分析。这些信息将用于确定城市和郊区综合体内的区域，在这些区域，社会和生物物理因素汇聚在一起，为恢复和振兴创造机会。

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.