A Case Study of a Moderate-Sale Small Family Farm in King County, Washington: An Example of Social Capital, Socioemotional Wealth in the Context of Civic Agriculture

This case study used a multi-method research design including online surveys, personal interviews, and participant observation to generate data organized into two major themes: psychological sense of community and valuing of direct and local food systems. These themes refer to the community connections of social capital, the social ties and emotional connection of socioemotional wealth, and in the context of the local food systems of civic agriculture. In the discussion, I highlight the importance of direct engagement with the owner-operator of a farm to cultivate engagement with the community as an example of the importance of social capital and socioemotional wealth, in the context of a more civic agriculture. Research was conducted on a single farm with 27 survey responses, 4 personal interviews, and 36 hours of participant observation. The results of this research find evidence of strong community support between the owner-operator and patrons and an emotional attachment with the patrons of the farm in the process of valuing fresh produce and supporting local. Future research could focus on the development of the concept of socioemotional wealth to include first-generation businesses and little-known factors affecting the continuation of family owned farms in the future. Indeed, the role of non-market human networks (as seen here) vs markets in the allocation of land and resource use merits further research

Time scales and modes of reef lagoon infilling in the Maldives and controls on the onset of reef island formation

Faro are annular reefs, with reef flats near sea level and lagoons of variable depth, characteristic of both the perimeter and lagoons of Maldivian (Indian Ocean) atolls. Their geomorphic development remains largely unknown, but where faro lagoons (termed velu in Maldivian) have infilled and support reef islands, these provide precious habitable land. Understanding the timing and modes of velu infilling is thus directly relevant to questions about reef island development and vulnerability. Here we use a chronostratigraphic data set obtained from a range of atoll-interior faro with partially to fully filled velu (including those with reef islands) from Baa (South Maalhosmadulu) Atoll, Maldives, to determine time scales and modes of velu infilling, and to identify the temporal and spatial thresholds that control reef island formation. Our data suggest a systematic relationship between faro size, velu infilling, and island development. These relationships likely vary between atolls as a function of atoll lagoon depth, but in Baa Atoll, our data set indicates the following faro-size relationships exist: (1) faros <∼0.5 km2 have velu that were completely infilled by ca. 3000 calibrated years B.P. (cal yr B.P.) with islands having established on these deposits by ca. 2.5 cal kyr B.P.; (2) faros >0.5 km2 but <∼1.25 km2 have velu in late stages of infill, may support unvegetated sand cays and, given sufficient sand supply, may evolve into larger, more permanent islands; and (3) faros >∼1.25 km2 have unfilled (deeper) velu which might only infill over long time scales and which are thus unlikely to support new island initiation. These new observations, when combined with previously published data on Maldivian reef island development, suggest that while the velu of the largest faro are unlikely to fill over the next few centuries (at least), other faro with near-infilled velu may provide important foci for future reef-island building, even under present highstand (and slightly rising) sea levels

Seasonal Radiocarbon Variation of Surface Seawater Recorded in A Coral from Kikai Island, Subtropical Northwestern Pacific

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Contributions of the direct supply of belowground seagrass detritus and trapping of suspended organic matter to the sedimentary organic carbon stock in seagrass meadows

Carbon captured by marine living organisms is called blue carbon, and seagrass meadows are a dominant blue carbon sink. However, our knowledge of how seagrass increases sedimentary organic carbon (OC) stocks is limited. We investigated two pathways of OC accumulation: trapping of organic matter in the water column and the direct supply of belowground seagrass detritus. We developed a new type of box corer to facilitate the retrieval of intact cores that preserve the structures of both sediments (including coarse sediments and dead plant structures) and live seagrasses. We measured seagrass density, total OC mass (OCtotal) (live seagrass OC biomass (OCbio) + sedimentary OC mass (OCsed)), and the stable carbon isotope ratio (δ13C) of OCsed and its potential OC sources at Thalassia hemprichii dominated back-reef and Enhalus acoroides dominated estuarine sites in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. At points with vegetation, OCbio accounted for 25 % and OCsed for 75 % of OCtotal; this contribution of OCbio to OCtotal is higher than in globally compiled data. Belowground detritus accounted for  ∼  90 % of the OC mass of dead plant structures (&gt; 2 mm in size) (OCdead). At the back-reef site, belowground seagrass biomass, OCdead, and δ13C of OCsed (δ13Csed) were positively correlated with OCsed, indicating that the direct supply of belowground seagrass detritus is a major mechanism of OCsed accumulation. At the estuarine site, aboveground seagrass biomass was positively correlated with OCsed but δ13Csed did not correlate with OCsed, indicating that trapping of suspended OC by seagrass leaves is a major mechanism of OCsed accumulation there. We inferred that the relative importance of these two pathways may depend on the supply (productivity) of belowground biomass. Our results indicate that belowground biomass productivity of seagrass meadows, in addition to their aboveground morphological complexity, is an important factor controlling their OC stock. Consideration of this factor will improve global blue carbon estimates.</p

Drivers of pCO2 Variability in Two Contrasting Coral Reef Lagoons: The Influence of Submarine Groundwater Discharge

The impact of groundwater on pCO2 variability was assessed in two coral reef lagoons with distinct drivers of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). Diel variability of pCO2 in the two ecosystems was explained by a combination of biological drivers and SGD inputs. In Rarotonga, a South Pacific volcanic island, 222Rn‐derived SGD was driven primarily by a steep terrestrial hydraulic gradient, and the water column was influenced by the high pCO2 (5501 µatm) of the fresh groundwater. In Heron Island, a Great Barrier Reef coral cay, SGD was dominated by seawater recirculation through the sediments (i.e., tidal pumping), and pCO2 was mainly impacted through the stimulation of biological processes. The Rarotonga water column had a higher average pCO2 (549 µatm) than Heron Island (471 µatm). However, pCO2 exhibited a greater diel range in Heron Island (778 µatm) than in Rarotonga (507 µatm). The Rarotonga water column received 29.0 ± 8.2 mmol free‐CO2 m−2 d−1 from SGD, while the Heron Island water column received 12.1 ± 4.2 mmol free‐CO2 m−2 d−1. Over the course of this study, both systems were sources of CO2 to the atmosphere with SGD‐derived free‐CO2 most likely contributing a large portion to the air‐sea CO2 flux. Studies measuring the carbon chemistry of coral reefs (e.g., metabolism and calcification rates) may need to consider the effects of groundwater inputs on water column carbonate chemistry. Local drivers of coral reef carbonate chemistry such as SGD may offer more approachable management solutions to mitigating the effects of ocean acidification on coral reefs

Taking the Metabolic Pulse of the World\u27s Coral Reefs

Worldwide, coral reef ecosystems are experiencing increasing pressure from a variety of anthropogenic perturbations including ocean warming and acidification, increased sedimentation, eutrophication, and overfishing, which could shift reefs to a condition of net calcium carbonate (CaCO3) dissolution and erosion. Herein, we determine the net calcification potential and the relative balance of net organic carbon metabolism (net community production; NCP) and net inorganic carbon metabolism (net community calcification; NCC) within 23 coral reef locations across the globe. In light of these results, we consider the suitability of using these two metrics developed from total alkalinity (TA) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) measurements collected on different spatiotemporal scales to monitor coral reef biogeochemistry under anthropogenic change. All reefs in this study were net calcifying for the majority of observations as inferred from alkalinity depletion relative to offshore, although occasional observations of net dissolution occurred at most locations. However, reefs with lower net calcification potential (i.e., lower TA depletion) could shift towards net dissolution sooner than reefs with a higher potential. The percent influence of organic carbon fluxes on total changes in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) (i.e., NCP compared to the sum of NCP and NCC) ranged from 32% to 88% and reflected inherent biogeochemical differences between reefs. Reefs with the largest relative percentage of NCP experienced the largest variability in seawater pH for a given change in DIC, which is directly related to the reefs ability to elevate or suppress local pH relative to the open ocean. This work highlights the value of measuring coral reef carbonate chemistry when evaluating their susceptibility to ongoing global environmental change and offers a baseline from which to guide future conservation efforts aimed at preserving these valuable ecosystems

Coping with Commitment: Projected Thermal Stress on Coral Reefs under Different Future Scenarios

BACKGROUND: Periods of anomalously warm ocean temperatures can lead to mass coral bleaching. Past studies have concluded that anthropogenic climate change may rapidly increase the frequency of these thermal stress events, leading to declines in coral cover, shifts in the composition of corals and other reef-dwelling organisms, and stress on the human populations who depend on coral reef ecosystems for food, income and shoreline protection. The ability of greenhouse gas mitigation to alter the near-term forecast for coral reefs is limited by the time lag between greenhouse gas emissions and the physical climate response. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This study uses observed sea surface temperatures and the results of global climate model forced with five different future emissions scenarios to evaluate the "committed warming" for coral reefs worldwide. The results show that the physical warming commitment from current accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could cause over half of the world's coral reefs to experience harmfully frequent (p> or =0.2 year(-1)) thermal stress by 2080. An additional "societal" warming commitment, caused by the time required to shift from a business-as-usual emissions trajectory to a 550 ppm CO(2) stabilization trajectory, may cause over 80% of the world's coral reefs to experience harmfully frequent events by 2030. Thermal adaptation of 1.5 degrees C would delay the thermal stress forecast by 50-80 years. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The results suggest that adaptation -- via biological mechanisms, coral community shifts and/or management interventions -- could provide time to change the trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions and possibly avoid the recurrence of harmfully frequent events at the majority (97%) of the world's coral reefs this century. Without any thermal adaptation, atmospheric CO(2) concentrations may need to be stabilized below current levels to avoid the degradation of coral reef ecosystems from frequent thermal stress events