| Squeezed from All Sides: Urbanization, Invasive Species, and Climate Change Threaten Function of Riparian Forest Buffers |
Lea R. Johnson, Tara T. Trammell, Tracie Bishop, Jim Bardsley, Joseph Sullivan |
Forests along coastal urban streams are located at the nexus of three global change processes: urbanization, spread of invasive species, and rising waters. To address these challenges and inform new approaches to integrated management, we have identified urban riparian forests that are vulnerable to urbanization, invasive species, and sea level rise impacts, and assessed the potential of these combined stresses to alter riparian ecosystem function and health as first essential step in understanding the extent to which urban riparian forests are vulnerable and identify management strategies to improve stream health and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. |
| Cover crops: the cornerstone of water management in the face of increasing demand and climate change |
Lead PI: Reberg-Horton at North Carolina State University; Co-PI: K Tully at UMD, S Mirsky, H Schomberg, K Balcomb, D Fleisher, L Duzy, and D Timlin at USDA-ARS, J Gaskin and M Cabrera at U of Georgia, T Butler at Noble Foundation, J Thompson, R Stockwell at National Wildlife Federation |
Despite the potentially transformative benefits of cover crop-based no-till production for increasing water and food security, adoption remains low in the US. The goal of this project is to increase understanding of cover crop management, impacts on water use efficiency and groundwater returns, and potential adoption across the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern US to enhance water and food security. |
| Building coastal resilience: adapting cropping systems to saltwater intrusion to balance economic viability and environmental health |
Lead PI: K Tully at UMD; Co-PI: K Gedan at George Washington University, J Miller at U of Delaware, and Becky Epanchin-Niell at Resources for the Future |
The Mid-Atlantic and northeastern US regions are experiencing some of the highest rates of sea-level rise in the world, and particularly affected are the low-lying lands of the Coastal Plain. The leading edge of sea-level rise is saltwater intrusion, but we have little understanding of the extent and nature of saltwater intrusion on the eastern shore of Maryland. The goal of this project is to (1) produce maps of the potential extent of saltwater intrusion, (2) understand the relationship between saltwater intrusion and soil carbon stabilization, and (3) test a variety of crops for saltwater intrusion tolerance. |
| Adapting agroecosystems to saltwater intrusion and mitigating nutrient losses from coastal farmlands |
Lead PI: K Tully at UMD; Co-PI: K Gedan at George Washington University, J Miller at U of Delaware, and Becky Epanchin-Niell at Resources for the Future |
The Mid-Atlantic and northeastern US regions are experiencing some of the highest rates of sea-level rise in the world, and particularly affected are the low-lying lands of the Coastal Plain. The leading edge of sea-level rise is saltwater intrusion, which has impacts for biogeochemistry, ecology, and human land use transitions. The goal of this project is to develop management strategies and policy frameworks that can balance farmer needs and environmental health on coastal farms losing land to saltwater intrusion. |
| Increasing Resilience to Sea Level Rise in Coastal Maryland |
Brian Needelman (ENST), Michael Paolisso (Anthropology), Sasha Land (MD DNR) |
Investigators from the University of Maryland have partnered with the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve to form the Deal Island Peninsula Project to increase the resilience of coastal marsh and communities on Maryland's Deal Island Peninsula in the face of sea level rise. The project works with a wide diversity of stakeholders developing restoration and adaptation approaches to increase the resilience of habitats and communities on the peninsula. |
| Diagnostic Stormwater Management Across Urban Ecosystems: Diagnostic Development and Revitalization |
Paul Leisnham, Amanda Rockler, Victoria Chanse, Sacoby Wilson, Hubert Montas, Adel Shirmohammadi |
The overall goal of this project is to better understand how urban watersheds can be improved through improvements to stormwater management. It will quantify the strength of healthy and unhealthy cycles and their critical feedback and intervention pathways within and between stormwater and human systems. The ultimate goal being to help reduce pollution from urban ecosystems to the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. |
