activities. Results will be applicable to resolving numerous resource conflicts in the 

 coastal zone. 



Characterization studies, which were initiated early in 1976, have become a 

 primary means of expanding our ecological information base and increasing our 

 knowledge and understanding of coastal ecosystems so that improved methods of 

 environmental impact assessment and management can be developed. These studies 

 also provide a link between separate studies of the continental components of 

 ecological systems and their oceanic interfaces.** 



Other efforts similar to characterization studies have been conducted by numerous 

 agencies during the 1970s for coastal ecosystems. Examples of these projects include 

 the study of the New York Bight by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration, the Potomac Estuary Study by the Maryland Department of 

 Natural Resources' Power Plant Siting Program, a study of South Florida by the 

 University of Florida's Center for Wetlands, and a study of Puget Sound by the State 

 of Washington. 



COASTAL ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION STUDIES 

 Definition 



Most previous ecological studies of coastal ecosystems have focused on facets of 

 the system, either its geographic areas (states, counties, floodplains) or various 

 biological, geological, physical, and social components (e.g.. animals, populations, 

 land uses, habitats, and water regimes). These efforts provide data and information 

 that lead to new insights concerning the particular ecological components studied, 

 but the interrelationships of these components and their processes have not been 

 adequately analyzed holistically. 



Therefore, confusion and debate exist among decisionmakers about problems, 

 possible solutions, and the future status of coastal ecosystems. In response, coastal 

 ecological characterization studies are designed to provide a holistic, structured 

 synthesis and analysis of existing information from the biological, physical, social, 

 and economic sciences. Characterization studies are tailored to meet the needs of a 

 wide range of decisionmakers and are designed to be useful for environmental 

 protection and planning. 



Major sources of information are incorporated into characterization studies, 

 including such materials as: 1) published maps, reports, and scientific journals; 2) 

 personal files and unpublished data; and 3) computer data files from federal, state, 

 university, and private institutions. Some data are inaccessible and vary in quality 

 and form. The data range from short-term records noting the presence or absence of 

 species, to exhaustive quantitative estimates of densities over both time and space. 

 Characterization studies are a means of integrating these various types of data by 

 describing or illustrating them in terms most useful to natural resource managers and 

 planners of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, 

 Bureau of Land Management, other federal and state organizations, and to members 

 of local agencies or the general public. 



PRODUCTS AND DATA BASES 



Ecosystems (Conceptual) Models 



The ecosystem models or conceptual framework of characterization studies, in 

 verbal or graphic form, delineate and define key physical processes, biological 

 resources, socioeconomic features, functional relationships, and the forces that 

 influence them. Although these models represent a systematized framework for data 

 collection and analysis, models ultimately must be statistically and mathematically 

 correct within certain confidence intervals if accurate quantitative assessments or 

 predictions are to be made. Figure 2 depicts an emergent wetland (marsh) community 

 in a wetland habitat with a wetland energy-circuit model superimposed.^ Both 



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