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

该项目的主要科学目标是揭示大气二氧化碳升高、氮污染、气候变化、海平面上升和植物入侵如何相互作用来控制潮汐沼泽生态系统的可持续性。在研究现场进行的长期全球变化研究的丰富，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，在考虑较长期趋势时，在短期内似乎重要的影响可能会被消除或逆转。中心假设是，植物群落组成的变化将调节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，研究人员将延长正在进行的全球变化治疗的记录，继续监测生态系统反应，并启动新的植物群落实验。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做法提供参考。潮汐湿地构成海岸和河口生态系统的生态结构，提供营养食物链、过滤水和保护沿海人口等生态系统服务。最重要的生态系统终点是土壤海拔增加，因为潮汐沼泽必须获得土壤才能跟上海平面上升的步伐。否则，沼泽将被转换为开放水域，关键的生态系统服务将不可逆转地丧失。这个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升高的关键问题。六名本科生将参与该项目，学习网站通过密集的科学夏令营接待数千名小学和高中年龄的学生。

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.