Humans are altering ecosystems at unprecedented rates, especially in the coastal zone. The Virginia Coast Reserve (VCR) LTER aims to develop predictive understanding of how long-term environmental change and short-term disturbances control the dynamic nature of coastal barrier landscapes. The landscape is heterogeneous, comprised of mainland watersheds, tidal marshes, lagoons and barrier islands. The central hypothesis is that ecosystem dynamics and pattern on the landscape are controlled by the interactions of vertical positions of the land, sea, and groundwater free surfaces, and the fluxes of organisms and materials across the landscape. Proposed and continuing research is organized around synthetic questions: (1) How do long-term drivers of change (climate, rising sea level, and land-use change) and short-term disturbances interact to alter ecosystem dynamics and state change, and how is their effect modified by internal processes and feedbacks at the local scale? (2) How do fluxes of organisms and materials across the landscape influence ecosystem dynamics and state change? (3) In the future, what will be the structure of the landscape and what processes will drive state changes? The first question is a continuation of past VCR research, while the latter questions are new. Modeling and process-level studies also address the biogeochemical and trophic consequences of state change on the landscape. The project uses a combination of long-term monitoring and experiments, shorter-term process studies, and modeling. Patterns, processes and interactions are examined within landscape units (watershed, tidal marsh, lagoon, barrier island), within mainland-lagoon-island box transects, and across the entire system of islands and lagoons. Processes are considered at temporal scales from hours (e.g., element cycling) to decades (e.g., succession) to more than a century (e.g., sea-level rise). Research includes ecologists, hydrologists, biogeochemists, atmospheric scientists, oceanographers, modelers, and specialists in remote sensing and informatics.
Understanding and predicting how multiple factors influence ecosystems and their services are critical challenges for environmental scientists and resource managers. VCR is a relatively pristine coastal system that can be compared with other sites to understand how coastal systems in general respond to drivers of global change. VCR has been very active in outreach, training and network activities. Its Schoolyard Program contributes important training and infrastructure to the primary and secondary schools in the local county, which is one of the poorest in the state; over half the students are women and minorities. Training of future environmental scientists through graduate programs at participating institutions is one of the priorities of the program. Each funding cycle VCR trains over 40 graduate students and about 20 undergraduates, about half of which are women and minorities. Scientific findings and technical information are broadly disseminated through the VCR website, scientific publications and presentations, and the media. VCR has developed links with conservation organizations, and local, state, and federal agencies through outreach efforts. VCR also has a strong partnership with The Nature Conservancy to address the important management and conservation problems facing this region. This puts VCR in an excellent position to provide a solid, scientific foundation for making decisions related to planning, management, and ecosystem restoration. This partnership can also serve as a model for science-based management of other dynamic coastal barrier systems.
