Stormwater Infrastructure as a Socio-Ecological System: The Case of Aaran's Pond

This poster examines stormwater ponds as complex adaptive ecosystems in the urban environment, in which community residents and other stakeholders are integral components. Stormwater ponds are important forms of green infrastructure used to control flooding in the Tampa Bay area. These ponds also can help mitigate the flow of nutrients into the bay, which can cause harmful algal blooms that impact people and marine life.With increasing frequency and intensity of flooding events due to climate change, some stormwater ponds, such as Aaran’s Pond in the University Area Community near the USF Tampa campus, are becoming less effective at flood management and increasingly characterized by poor water quality due to excessive nutrient pollution that negatively impacts the health of the pond ecosystem and the people who rely on it. This research draws on data from 15in-depth, semi-structured interviews with environmental scientists and community residents. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data reveals how the Aaran’s Pond stormwater infrastructure has become a pond ecosystem with important ecosystem services that support and sustain human livelihoods. The analysis also reveals important insights for ecological restoration of the pond.

The Weather Climate and Society REU program invited 10 students from across the US to conduct research projects related to disaster-vulnerable communities in Florida and other extreme weather-affected areas. These projects were interdisciplinary, integrating social science and physical science aspects of severe weather, climate, and related disasters through field work, interviews, and/or spatial analysis of secondary data in GIS. The PI of this REU is Dr. Jennifer Collins.

本海报针对城市环境中的雨水塘（stormwater pond）展开研究，将其视为复杂适应性生态系统（complex adaptive ecosystem），其中社区居民与其他利益相关方均为该系统不可或缺的组成部分。雨水塘是坦帕湾地区用于防洪的重要绿色基础设施（green infrastructure）形式，同时可通过截留营养物质缓解海湾富营养化压力——过量营养物质会引发有害藻华（harmful algal blooms），进而威胁人类与海洋生物的生存。受气候变化影响，洪水事件的发生频率与强度持续攀升，部分雨水塘（例如美国南佛罗里达大学（USF）坦帕校区附近大学园区社区的阿伦塘（Aaran’s Pond））的防洪效能逐渐降低，同时因过度营养污染导致水质持续恶化，这对塘内生态系统健康及依赖该塘的人群均造成了负面影响。

本研究的数据来源于对15名环境科学家与社区居民开展的半结构化深度访谈。通过对定性数据（qualitative data）开展主题分析（thematic analysis），本研究揭示了阿伦塘的雨水基础设施如何演变为具备重要生态系统服务（ecosystem service）功能、支撑人类生计的塘生态系统；同时该分析也为该塘的生态修复（ecological restoration）提供了关键见解。

“天气、气候与社会”本科生研究经验计划（Weather Climate and Society REU）邀请了来自全美各地的10名学生开展研究项目，项目主题聚焦佛罗里达州及其他受极端天气影响地区的灾害脆弱社区。此类项目均为跨学科研究，通过实地调研、访谈及/或对地理信息系统（Geographic Information System, GIS）二级数据开展空间分析，整合了极端天气、气候及相关灾害的社会科学与自然科学维度。本REU项目的首席研究员（Principal Investigator, PI）为詹妮弗·柯林斯博士（Dr. Jennifer Collins）。