Advancing the Science of Environmental Flow Management for Protection of Temporarily Closed Estuaries and Coastal Lagoons

The science needed to inform management of environmental flows temporarily closed estuaries and coastal lagoons is decades behind the state knowledge for rivers large embayments. These globally ubiquitous small systems, which are often seasonally ocean’s influence, under particular threat associated with hydrologic alteration because changes in atershed land use, water use practices, climate change. Managing these systems complicated by their tight coupling watershed processes, variable states intermittently closing mouths, reliance on regional scale sediment transport littoral processes. Here we synthesize our current understanding ecohydrology (TCEs) propose a prioritized research agenda aimed at advancing ecological responses altered flow regimes TCEs. Key needs include agreeing consistent typology, improving models that couple ocean forcing appropriate spatial temporal scales, quantifying stress–response relationships alteration, tools establish desired conditions account change consider cultural/indigenous objectives, measure ecosystem function social/cultural values, developing monitoring adaptive programs can consideration other stressors across different habitat types. Coordinated global efforts address identified gaps help guide actions reducing or mitigating potential impacts through informed freshwater inflows.