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Integrated Approaches to Estuarine Use and Protection: Tampa Bay Ecosystem Services Case Study.
Citation:
HARVEY, J. E., M. J. RUSSELL, D. D. DANTIN, J. NESTLERODE, H. GREENING, AND S. COOPER. Integrated Approaches to Estuarine Use and Protection: Tampa Bay Ecosystem Services Case Study. Chapter 8, Estuaries: Types, Movement Patterns and Climatical Impacts.. Nova Science Publishers, Inc, Hauppauge, NY, , 263-277, (2010).
Impact/Purpose:
This short commentary is submitted for the book “Estuaries: Types, Movement Patterns and Climatical Impacts.” The Tampa Bay Region faces projected stress from climate change, contaminants, nutrients, and of human development on a natural ecosystem that is valued (economically, aesthetically and culturally) in its present state. With fast-paced population increases, conversion and development of open land, and other stresses, redressing past damage to Bay habitats and protecting them in the future will remain the greatest challenge for managers in this region. Regional and Local planners, managers, and decision-makers, like those in the Tampa region, require new or modified ways to address questions regarding the production, delivery, and consumption of ecosystem services under various projected scenarios of climate change and urban development. Approaches that we are developing collaboratively must address human well-being endpoints (the focus of ecosystem services) as well as more traditional measures of ecosystem integrity, sustainability, and productivity. Collectively, these comprise tools that can be used to make well-informed, thoughtful, and publically transparent decisions.
Description:
The Tampa Bay region faces projected stress from climate change, contaminants, nutrients, and of human development on a natural ecosystem that is valued (economically, aesthetically and culturally) in its present state. With fast-paced population increases, conversion and development of open land, and other stresses, redressing past damage to Bay habitats and protecting them in the future will remain the greatest challenge for managers in this region. Maintaining water quality gains of recent decades and sustaining ecological services requires careful thought and planning to compensate for these stressors. Approaches piloted during this study will be applicable to many urbanized estuaries, particularly along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coastline, because they face similar stresses. Regional and local planners, managers, and decision-makers, like those in the Tampa region, require new or modified ways to address questions regarding the production, delivery, and consumption of ecosystem services under various projected future scenarios of climate change and urban development. Approaches that we are developing collaboratively must address human well-being endpoints (the focus of ecosystem services) as well as more traditional measures of ecosystem integrity, sustainability, and productivity. Predictive estimates of ecosystem services value require 1) Alternative future scenarios, especially population growth and effects from climate change 2) Models translating environmental conditions set by these scenarios into ecosystem services production and their sustainability at different scales from local neighborhoods to watershed and larger and 3) An approach to visualize and link model outputs to a common currency for prioritization and valuation. Collectively, these comprise tools that can be used to make well-informed, thoughtful, and publically transparent decisions.