CAREER:Understanding Coastal Resilience: Implications of an Expanding White Zone in the Florida Everglades

由于海平面上升和盐度增加，许多沿海湿地处于危险之中。在佛罗里达大沼泽地，淡水供应的变化和海平面上升正在影响淡水生态系统的健康。由于淡水物种不能很好地适应高盐度水平，低生产力区经常出现在咸水和淡水水体的交汇处。尽管这些低生产力带通常出现在沿海地区，但我们不了解这些带在更大景观上的大小和位置将如何影响沿海地区保持生产率的能力，从而使它们能够跟上海平面上升的速度。为了了解沼泽地湿地是如何沿着海岸变化的，有必要确定盐胁迫是如何导致积累的碳(C)快速流失的，以及耐盐物种进入受影响区域所需的时间，从而提高生产力。该项目结合了物种水平的测量，以确定盐度变化如何影响光合作用速率，以及物种对盐度增加的特定反应如何影响整个沼泽生态系统的植被覆盖。除了分享研究成果的传统途径外，该项目还包括合作开发一个互动网站，该网站以教育元素和资源为特色，旨在帮助沿海居民、教育工作者和民选官员更加熟悉和参与沿海研究。该项目还将支持为生物学家举办的多样性和偏见意识研讨会，并举办一次博物馆展览。为了了解沼泽地湿地是如何变化的，有必要确定由变化的水文制度驱动的复杂压力因素是如何加速C储存或导致积累C的快速损失的。该项目包括表征物种水平对盐度和水文条件变化的生理反应，遥感检测低生产力带的大小和位置，以及涡动相关方差来测量整个生态系统的生产力。本研究旨在建立湿地生态系统结构与碳动态之间的联系，以及水文影响湿地对已经增加的大气CO2反馈的程度。该项目产生的数据将通过测量二氧化碳和甲烷排放量如何随淹没和盐度变化的季节性影响而波动来改进湿地数据模型的比较。该项目还将制作一部纪录片，以提高人们对沿海生态系统正在发生的重要变化的认识，并使居民、学生和政治家能够加入我们的努力，发展有弹性的生态系统。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Many coastal wetlands are at risk due to sea level rise and increasing salinity levels. In the Florida Everglades, changes in freshwater supply and sea level rise are influencing the health of freshwater ecosystems. Since freshwater species are not well adapted to high salinity levels, a zone of low productivity often occurs at the intersection of salt- and fresh-water bodies. Even though these low productivity zones commonly occur in coastal areas, we do not understand how the size and location of these zones on the larger landscape will influence the capacity for coastal regions to maintain the productivity rates that allow them to keep up with sea level rise. To understand how Everglades wetlands are changing along the coast, it is necessary to determine how salt stress leads to a rapid loss of accumulated carbon (C) and the amount of time it takes for salt tolerant species to move into the affected zone, increasing productivity. This project incorporates measurements at the species level to determine how changes in salinity affect rates of photosynthesis, and how species-specific responses to increased salinity impact vegetation cover throughout entire marsh ecosystems. In addition to the traditional avenues for sharing research findings, this project includes a collaboration to develop an interactive website that features educational elements as well as resources designed to help coastal residents, educators, and elected officials become more familiar with and involved in coastal research. This project will also support a diversity and bias awareness workshop for biologists and produce a museum exhibit. To understand how Everglades wetlands are changing, it is necessary to determine how complex stressors, driven by shifting hydrological regimes, either accelerate C storage or cause a rapid loss of accumulated C. This project involves characterizing species-level physiological responses to changing salinity and hydrologic conditions, remote sensing to detect the size and location of the low productivity zone, and eddy covariance to measure the productivity rates of entire ecosystems. This research aims to establish links between wetland ecosystem structure and C dynamics, and the degree to which hydrology influences wetland feedbacks to already increasing atmospheric CO2. The data produced from this project will improve wetland data- model comparisons by measuring how CO2 and CH4 emissions fluctuate in response to the seasonal effects of inundation and changes in salinity. This project will also produce a documentary film to raise awareness of the important changes happening to coastal ecosystems and empower residents, students, and politicians to join in our effort to develop resilient ecosystems.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.