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: 1758420
• 负责人: Lawrence Band
• 金额: $ 4.9万
• 依托单位: University of Virginia Main Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-07-01 至 2018-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1758420&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对全球沿海系统的可持续性构成严重威胁。 美国一半以上的河口因氮过量而受到一定程度的损害。 随着为遵守新法规所需的营养减少而制定的计划的制定，对氮的担忧加剧了。该项目将解决与城市河流和流域恢复工作对氮动态影响相关的关键不确定性。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发展的评估和管理。 该研究将建立在与巴尔的摩市和县环境管理者在水质和可持续性领域的持续关系的基础上。 研究人员将聘请市、县和州政府机构的代表；非政府组织，例如公园与人民基金会和巴尔的摩蓝水基金会；通过面对面访谈、网络研讨会和研究摘要与当地社区团体进行交流。 研究小组还将发起一项公民科学工作，居民收集与恢复工作相关的害虫和垃圾数据，并将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与恢复活动相关的犯罪、害虫产生和垃圾问题所表达的担忧。 其他更广泛的影响包括对研究生和本科生进行可持续科学方面的培训。 该项目作为国家科学基金会沿海科学、工程和可持续发展教育计划——沿海 SEES 的一部分得到支持。该项目将解决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。 这项工作以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为基础，将解决以下问题：减少向海岸输送氮？ 这些影响是否很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海岸距离的沿海居民是否了解并关心受纳水域的生态完整性？ 公民科学努力能否增加居民对沿海水质的了解和兴趣？ 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河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着在流域规模的氮质量平衡中可见。 该小组将评估利益相关者在社会经济地位和距海岸距离不同的社区采取这些干预措施的意愿，并对河流和流域的恢复工作进行经济和政策分析。 这些信息将用于确定城市到远郊综合体内社会和生物物理因素汇聚的区域，为恢复和振兴创造机会。