You are here:
Towards a macrosystems approach for successful coastal management
Citation:
Wigand, C., R. Martin, S. Balogh, N. Merrill, K. Mulvaney, AND T. Hill. Towards a macrosystems approach for successful coastal management. Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) Annual Meeting, San Juan, PUERTO RICO, June 05 - 08, 2017.
Impact/Purpose:
Managing coastal resources for resiliency and sustainability often requires using integrative, multi-disciplinary research across varying spatial and temporal scales to engage stakeholders and inform decision-makers. This presentation addresses some of the research underway in SHC 4.61 (Social-Ecological Systems for Resilience and Adaptive Management in Communities) integrating wetland ecology, socioeconomics, and other disciplines to help solve management problems, especially those concerning increasing nutrient loads on Cape Cod, MA.
Description:
Managing coastal resources for resiliency and sustainability often requires integrative, multi-disciplinary approaches across varying spatial and temporal scales to engage stakeholders and inform decision-makers. We discuss case studies integrating wetland ecology, economics, sociology and other disciplines to help solve management problems, especially those concerning increasing nutrient loads and climate change (e.g., accelerated sea level rise, increased flooding, warming temperatures). One goal of the macrosystems approach is to provide the science necessary to assess tradeoffs for different management, restoration, and climate adaptation actions. In the first case study we examine the conversion of a cranberry farm in New England to a freshwater wetland with connectivity to Cape Cod Bay (MA). A second example examines climate adaptation actions in coastal wetlands of the northeastern US to mitigate accelerated sea level rise. Various restoration actions (e.g., dam removal, hydrological engineering) and climate adaptation interventions (e.g., living shoreline, thin layer sediment application) are underway, and we discuss the adaptive management and macrosystems approaches for each example. One focus of management actions is the provision of select ecosystem services. For each study, we discuss tradeoffs in the provision of services from different actions. By presenting examples of how a macrosystems approach works in practice, we hope to show its transferability to other coastal management problems.