Reja Md Y, Brody Samuel D, Highfield Wesley E, Newman Galen D
Post-Graduate Research Assistant, Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
Department of Marine Sciences, Professor and Director of the Center for Texas Beaches and Shores, Texas A&M University, Galveston, TX, 77553, USA.
Environ Manage. 2017 Dec;60(6):1116-1126. doi: 10.1007/s00267-017-0943-z. Epub 2017 Sep 22.
Recovery after hurricane events encourages new development activities and allows reconstruction through the conversion of naturally occurring wetlands to other land uses. This research investigates the degree to which hurricane recovery activities in coastal communities are undermining the ability of these places to attenuate the impacts of future storm events. Specifically, it explores how and to what extent wetlands are being affected by the CWA Section 404 permitting program in the context of post-Hurricane Ike 2008 recovery. Wetland alteration patterns are examined by selecting a control group (Aransas and Brazoria counties with no hurricane impact) vs. study group (Chambers and Galveston counties with hurricane impact) research design with a pretest-posttest measurement analyzing the variables such as permit types, pre-post Ike permits, land cover classes, and within-outside the 100-year floodplain. Results show that permitting activities in study group have increased within the 100-year floodplain and palustrine wetlands continue to be lost compare to the control group. Simultaneously, post-Ike individual and nationwide permits increased in the Hurricane Ike impacted area. A binomial logistic regression model indicated that permits within the study group, undeveloped land cover class, and individual and nationwide permit type have a substantial effect on post-Ike permits, suggesting that post-Ike permits have significant impact on wetland losses. These findings indicate that recovery after the hurricane is compromising ecological resiliency in coastal communities. The study outcome may be applied to policy decisions in managing wetlands during a long-term recovery process to maintain natural function for future flood mitigation.
飓风过后的恢复鼓励了新的开发活动，并通过将自然形成的湿地转变为其他土地用途来进行重建。本研究调查了沿海社区的飓风恢复活动在多大程度上削弱了这些地方减轻未来风暴事件影响的能力。具体而言，它探讨了在2008年飓风艾克过后的恢复背景下，湿地如何以及在多大程度上受到《清洁水法》第404条许可计划的影响。通过选择一个对照组（未受飓风影响的阿兰萨斯县和布拉佐里亚县）与研究组（受飓风影响的钱伯斯县和加尔维斯顿县）的研究设计，并采用前后测测量方法，分析许可类型、艾克飓风前后的许可、土地覆盖类别以及100年洪泛区内外部等变量，来研究湿地变化模式。结果表明，研究组在100年洪泛区内的许可活动有所增加，与对照组相比，河漫滩湿地继续减少。同时，在飓风艾克影响地区，艾克飓风过后的个人和全国性许可有所增加。二项逻辑回归模型表明，研究组内的许可、未开发土地覆盖类别以及个人和全国性许可类型对艾克飓风过后的许可有重大影响，这表明艾克飓风过后的许可对湿地损失有显著影响。这些发现表明，飓风过后的恢复正在损害沿海社区的生态恢复力。该研究结果可应用于长期恢复过程中湿地管理的政策决策，以维持其未来防洪的自然功能。
