The Virginia Coast Reserve (VCR) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program examines the response of coastal barrier ecosystems to climate change, sea-level rise and intensified human use. Studies of watersheds, marshes, tidal flats, bays, and barrier islands show that there are surprising and dramatic changes in ecological dynamics, so-called 'tipping points' or thresholds, where one ecosystem rapidly shifts to another. When these changes occur, many key ecosystem services - storm buffering, commercial fisheries support, carbon sequestration and wildlife habitat - are lost and may be difficult to restore. The VCR LTER uses long-term observations, experiments, and modeling to characterize how, where, and when these tipping points occur, the environmental drivers and biological feed-backs that move ecosystems toward or away from critical thresholds, and the resilience of ecosystems to resist change.
Understanding non-linear responses to global change is critical to managing coastal ecosystems where over half the global population lives, and where humans are altering systems at unprecedented rates. VCR research findings will be broadly disseminated through the program's website, publications and presentations, and partnerships with regional stakeholders to inform policy decisions. The site's Schoolyard Program will provide important training and infrastructure to primary and secondary schools in the local counties, which are some of the poorest in Virginia, and where over half the students are women and minorities. Training of future environmental scientists through the graduate programs at the Virginia Coastal Reserve is one of the priorities of the proposed research.
