This U.S.-Mexico award will support Dr. Adina Paytan of Stanford University in a research collaboration with Dr. Jorge A. Herrera-Silveira of Cinvestav-Merida in Yucatan, Mexico. The researchers intend to work on a multiple-year study to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying methane production and oxidation in mangrove ecosystems. They aim to obtain reliable estimates of methane flux from mangrove ecosystems to the atmosphere, and predict fluctuations in this flux that may result from climatic and anthropogenic change. The Office of International Science and Engineering and the Division of Environmental Biology of NSF will contribute funds for the research.
The study will take place in several lagoons dominated by mangrove vegetation located on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. These lagoons have similar vegetation and climate patterns yet very different levels of freshwater and nutrient inputs and anthropogenic impact, allowing for comparison of various parameters in the study. Project results will allow better estimates to be made of the contribution of worldwide mangrove ecosystems to the global methane budget and predict potential changes in this flux. The collaborators will bring complementary skills to the project with Dr. Herrera-Silveira emphasizing biological aspects and Dr. Paytan focusing on biogeochemical interactions in the ecosystem.
