个人简介

James Thomas Morris 是美国南卡罗来纳大学杰出荣誉教授，长期深耕海洋与海岸科学领域。他曾任南卡罗来纳大学巴鲁克海洋与海岸科学研究所所长，拥有四十余年高校任教与科研管理经历，获美国科学促进会会士、湿地科学家学会会士等多项荣誉。作为河口生态学家，他专注系统生态学、生物地球化学与生态系统建模，研发湿地平衡模型（MEM），长期参与美国国家科学基金会长期生态研究项目，聚焦海平面上升与盐沼可持续性、蓝碳研究，成果丰硕，成果发表在Nature Communications、Ecology、Global Change Biology等国际顶刊，在海岸湿地生态与气候变化应对领域具有重要影响力。

讲座摘要

Non-destructive measures of primary production (NPP) in salt marshes show that there is significant variation in NPP that is correlated with anomalies in mean sea level. NPP increases with high sea level in marshes situated high in the intertidal zone and decreases when marsh relative elevation is low. Bioassay experiments with“marsh organs” show that Spartina alterniflora has a growth range in the upper half of the tidal frame. The optimal elevation for growth is approximately in the middle of this range. Vertical marsh accretion here is primarily governed by turnover and preservation of roots and rhizomes, which contributes significantly to soil volume. Accretion occurs by the filling of sediment with organic matter, much like a sponge swelling when it absorbs water. There is feedback among NPP, relative elevation, and sea level that is stabilizing when relative elevation is super-optimal for growth and destabilizing when relative elevation is suboptimal. The rate of sea-level rise and productivity determine the equilibrium elevation.