
NSF Org: |
OCE Division Of Ocean Sciences |
Recipient: |
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Initial Amendment Date: | September 13, 2016 |
Latest Amendment Date: | December 13, 2019 |
Award Number: | 1600062 |
Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
Program Manager: |
Baris Uz
bmuz@nsf.gov (703)292-4557 OCE Division Of Ocean Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
Start Date: | September 15, 2016 |
End Date: | August 31, 2020 (Estimated) |
Total Intended Award Amount: | $115,901.00 |
Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $115,901.00 |
Funds Obligated to Date: |
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History of Investigator: |
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Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
4111 MONARCH WAY STE 204 NORFOLK VA US 23508-2561 (757)683-4293 |
Sponsor Congressional District: |
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Primary Place of Performance: |
4111 Monarch Way, Suite 204 Norfolk VA US 23529-0001 |
Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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Parent UEI: |
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NSF Program(s): | SEES Coastal |
Primary Program Source: |
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Program Reference Code(s): | |
Program Element Code(s): |
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Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
This research examines the potential for achieving sustainability in coastal systems where natural resources are impacted by both climate change and human responses to climate change. Chesapeake Bay shorescapes (a shoreline zone which includes riparian, intertidal, and near-shore shallow water areas) are used as a test bed because sea level rise creates risks for shoreline property owners and shoreline marshes. Property owner perception and response to the risk varies and their choice of a shoreline protection approach (armoring, living shoreline, do nothing) has consequences for the capacity of shoreline marshes to continue to provide ecosystem services. Impacts on marsh services that include supporting fisheries and improving water quality affect the larger estuarine system, with consequences for the many users of that system. This leads to regulation by government officials, who have their own perception of all these issues. Modeling the decision-making process of shoreline property owners, the ecological consequences of shoreline management decisions, and the perceptions of officials developing or implementing natural resource policies will discover opportunities and options for managing the combined human and natural system to desired outcomes.
The goal of the project is to discover the elements of the shorescape social-ecological system that have the greatest influence on attainment of sustainable outcomes. The research describes the trajectory of Chesapeake Bay shorescapes in terms of changes in amount, distribution, and character of shoreline types. The primary drivers of these changes are rising sea levels and actions of shoreline property owners to combat erosion. An analysis of existing information on shoreline conditions, property owner characteristics and property management decisions is used to model future shoreline management choices. A series of field investigations comparatively quantify multiple ecosystem functions (habitat provision, primary production, nutrient and carbon storage) of living shorelines and natural marshes along a continuum of estuarine shorescape settings and project future shifts in function under varying management scenarios. This information is compiled in a marsh function model that can use input from the shoreline management model. Future outcomes then are forecast under scenarios with alternative sea level rise and management conditions. Surveys of government officials responsible for policy development and implementation document the operative feedbacks from the ecological consequences of property owner decisions. Synthesis of this information identifies the characteristics of shorescape socio-ecological systems that enhance or detract from their ability to achieve sustainable outcomes. Formal guidance for coastal managers and policy makers will be developed using the results of this integrative approach to sustainability in Chesapeake Bay shorescapes.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Rising seas are placing coastal communities worldwide at physical risk and threaten economic vitality. As climate change pressures intensify, how we manage our shorelines will have environmental consequences on the larger Chesapeake Bay system, cumulating over space and time to affect the benefits society as a whole derives from the system. Natural and nature-based approaches to shoreline protection are being encouraged through policy as an alternative to armoring (bulkheads, revetments). These natural and nature-based approaches provide protective services while adapting to rising seas and providing numerous other societal and ecosystem benefits. Conserving and restoring tidal marshes is one such approach. Implementation of these practices has increased over the past decade, armoring still dominates. This project provides insights into the possible futures of the Chesapeake Bay shorescape (a shoreline zone which includes riparian, intertidal, and littoral areas) under climate change and different shoreline management strategies and identifies factors that influence shoreline decision making.
The cross-disciplinary team included policy and legal scholars, economists, sociologists, demographers, physical and geospatial modelers, ecologists, and biogeochemists. This project applies a social-ecological systems approach to investigate the linkages and feedback between human and natural components by describing the various interactions between the Bay system, shoreline resources (marshes), resource users (property owners), and governance of resource usage (local and state policy makers and resource managers) to inform decision-making for sustainability and enhancement of ecosystem services. In doing so, this project advances knowledge about the how the natural system is driving user behavior, and what changes in user characteristics and/or governance systems might result in different decision choices. For example, the project examines how different actors ? property owners, environmental nonprofits, contractors, and local and state regulators ? perceive environmental changes, incorporate these perceptions into the decisions they make about development that affects the shorescape, and interact with other actors in the regulatory process affecting shoreline development.
The results of this project also provide a way to characterize the shorescape social-ecological system to determine the elements of this system that have the greatest influence in maximizing coastal ecosystem services in Virginia. This social-ecological system includes governance and public management structures that play a role in social-ecological resilience, and encompasses actors from across government, business, nonprofits, and civic sectors. The work of the Old Dominion University policy researchers that are part of the project team have further advanced knowledge in the environmental management and policy discipline by (1) improving understanding of how policy and management aspects of shoreline regulation can influence the social-ecological resilience of shorescapes such as that of the Chesapeake Bay, (2) building new knowledge about the role of actors from multiple sectors in shoreline regulation that impacts the shorescape, and (3) developing a model for the interplay between actors from multiple sectors to allow for assess ent of how social-ecological resilience can be improved.
The project?s findings also have broader impact that benefits society. For example, project findings also identify opportunities for improving sustainability of shorescapes and ecosystem services such as through contractor training and certification, enhanced roles for nonprofit organizations, more responsively meeting property owners needs regarding shoreline modification and shoreline development, and addressing barriers to effective shoreline regulation and permitting at the state and local levels.
The project provides actionable information about the multiple roles nonprofit organizations play in encouraging living shorelines, including their direct involvement in implementing and funding living shoreline projects; interactions with contractors and property owners in implementing living shoreline projects; involvement in training and education programs and activities to increase public awareness; participation in shoreline regulatory processes; and advocacy activities. This information can help create greater awareness and appreciation of the important roles played by nonprofits, and can inform efforts to support more extensive involvement of nonprofits in environmental activities.
The project also, through a comprehensive analysis of shoreline regulations across multiple states, advances knowledge by developing up-to-date inventory about strategies and approaches, at the state level, for regulatory policies and management approaches to ensure coastal resilience and shoreline sustainability. This analysis contributes to the legal and policy knowledge base regarding governance factors affecting shoreline and tidal wetlands/marsh management practices including the prevalence and distribution of specific shoreline management laws, the levels of government that have relevant authority, and variation in characteristics of these laws across jurisdictions, both at the state and local levels. The project results also have broader impact on society by informing policies and laws governing shoreline development, management of tidal wetlands and marshes, and the preference for living shorelines as a way to manage erosion, sustain wetlands, and ensure continuity of provision of ecosystem services.
Last Modified: 12/08/2020
Modified by: Juita-Elena Yusuf
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