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

沿海 SEES 合作研究：恢复和再开发对城市沿海流域氮动态的影响

• 批准号: 1427150
• 负责人: Claire Welty
• 金额: $ 45万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland Baltimore County
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-09-15 至 2018-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1427150&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Coastal; SEES; Collaborative; Research; Effects

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.

与城市化相关的过量氮是对全球沿海体系可持续性的关键威胁。 由于过量的氮，美国超过一半的河口显示出一定程度的损害。 对氮的担忧加剧了计划，以实现符合新法规所需的营养减少的计划。该项目将解决与城市流和流域恢复工作对氮动力学的影响有关的关键不确定性。影响这些努力实施的人类社会和经济因素也将得到解决。 该项目的环境，社会和经济洞察力的结合有可能改变全球城市沿海可持续性的评估和管理。 这项研究将基于与巴尔的摩市和县的环境经理在水质和可持续性领域的持续关系。 研究人员将吸引来自城市，县和州政府机构的代表；公园与人民基金会和巴尔的摩蓝水等非政府组织；以及当地社区团体通过面对面的访谈，网络研讨会和研究摘要。 研究团队还将发起一项公民科学工作，居民收集有关虫害和恢复工作相关的垃圾的数据，并确定作为公民科学家的参与是否会增加对恢复实践的了解和热情。 这项工作将直接解决许多巴尔的摩居民对犯罪，害虫的生产和与恢复活动相关的垃圾的关注。 其他更广泛的影响包括可持续性科学的培训研究生和本科生。 该项目是国家科学基金会沿海科学，工程和可持续性教育计划的一部分 - 沿海地区的一部分。该项目将解决构成城市化对沿海可持续性影响的生物物理和社会科学因素之间的复杂相互作用。 基于国家科学基金会的耦合社会生态研究，资助了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，这项工作将解决以下问题：绿色基础设施在减少氮的传递方面的效率如何恢复和安装？ 这些效果是否因基本卫生基础设施的退化而容易淹没？ 具有不同社会经济地位和距离沿海距离的沿海居民知道并关心接收水的生态完整性吗？ 公民科学努力是否可以增加居民知识和对沿海水质的兴趣？ 一个生态学家，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恢复项目的氮优势和公众支持，并确定这些修复的氮益处以及其他绿色基础设施干预措施是否显着且可见。 该小组将评估利益相关者在社会地位和沿海距离各不相同的社区中采取这些干预措施的意愿，并对流和分水岭恢复工作进行经济和政策分析。 该信息将用于确定城市内到外城综合体内的地区，在这些区域中，社会和生物物理因素会融合以创造恢复和振兴的机会。