Organization:
Research Title: Land Margins Ecosystems Research (LMER)
Funding Level (millions of dollars):
| FY94 | 4.1 |
|---|---|
| FY95 | 2.9 |
| FY96 | 2.8 |
Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR) Component:
(a) Subcommittee: Global Change Subcommittee (70%)
Water Resources/Coastal and Marine Environments Subcommittee (30%)
NSTC Committee on Fundamental Science
(b) Environmental Issue: Global Change (30%); Large Scale Changes in
Ocean
Ecosystems (30%); Natural Variability (20%); Aquatic Ecosystem Integrity (20%)
(c) Research Activity: System Structure and Function: Understand
(100%)
Organizational Component:
Ocean Sciences Division
NSF, Biological
Oceanography Program
OCE/NSF, Room 725
4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22230
Point of Contact:
Scott Collins
Phone: 703-306-1483
E-Mail: scollins@nsf.gov
Research Goals:
Environments at the land/sea interface change constantly because of natural
variability
of
climate and sensitivity to storms and sea level changes. Change in these
environments
is
accelerating due to impacts of anthropogenically altered freshwater flows, sediment
loading
and material inputs, and harvest of resources. With population density and growth
in
coastal areas outpacing all other regions, it is crucial to understand how changing
climate
and man-induced changes will interact and alter these ecosystems.
Research Description:
NSF established the LMER program to increase understanding of:
1) the
organization
and
function of land-margin ecosystems (e.g., estuaries, coastal wetlands, tidal portions
of
rivers and coastal reefs); 2) the linkages between these systems and adjacent
terrestrial
and
marine systems, and (3) the impacts of major natural environmental perturbations,
particularly sea-level rise and freshwater inputs. In coming decades, greenhouse
effects
may cause global climate changes resulting in alterations in river runoff, material
flow, sea-level height and temperature. The LMER program has begun to gain
knowledge
that will
enable us to predict the effects of these global and human changes on ecosystems
at the
land/sea interface. LMER projects seek to understand major environmental changes
that
influence land-margin environments, and assess how the populations,
communities and
ecosystems of the land-margin environments respond. Key elements of LMER are:
(1)
interdisciplinary research; (2) studies of spatial and temporal scale effects; (3)
modeling to
guide the research and facilitate comparisons with other systems; and (4)
comparative
studies of different ecosystems.
Program Interfaces:
LMER grew out of major community workshops and recommendations of scientific
societies in the US. Beneficiaries of the LMER program include mission agencies
responsible for coastal environments, scientists in the US and abroad studying
ecosystem
dynamics in coastal areas, and environmental policymakers. LMER is a cooperative
program involving NOAA/NOS and the Estuarine Research Reserves, and
EPA/ORD.
NOAA and EPA are gaining understanding of the dynamics of some coastal
ecosystems
in
their direct mission jurisdiction. Independent scientists are using LMER activities
as a basis
for ancillary research programs. The program is leading the US science community
in
understanding denitrification processes in coastal systems. LMER has received
industry
support (from Bonneville Power) for studies in the Columbia River estuary system
because of industry's need to understand and control impacts. The network of
LMER
scientists and sites are pursuing cross-system comparisons, working with the NSF
LTER - Long Term Ecological Research projects. Discussions are ongoing about
linkages
between
LMER and agencies involved with watershed and land management. LMER
represents the
major USGCRP component of the IGBP -LOICZ (Land Ocean Interactions in the
Coastal
Zone) Program. It will also link with the IUBS/SCOPE Diversitas Program to
understand
the role of biodiversity in the functioning of estuarine and coastal ecosystems,
and the IAI -Conosur program of southern Latin America.
Program Milestones:
1) Establishment of an additional LMER site in 1995, with special emphasis given
to a site
at one of the Great Lakes; (2) establishment of several new sites by 1997 to ensure
at least
Policy Payoffs:
This program concerns the impact of ecosystem, watershed and range management
on
the
health and dynamics of coastal ecosystems with variations in climatology; and the
contribution of groundwater nutrients in coastal areas to euthrophication and
ecosystem
alteration. All of these are directly linked to issues of environmental management.
LMER
programs will deal directly with issues of the ecosystem function of biodiversity
in
estuarine and coastal systems.