Ocean Acidification (OA) owing to increasing atmospheric CO2 may have profound impacts on marine ecosystems including coral reefs that may lose their fundamental function of reef construction. However, large spatial-temporal variation and technological hurdles of monitoring seawater carbonate chemistry prohibit accurate predictions of OA impacts on coral reefs, and thus, effective mitigation and adaptation strategies. Here, we propose to first establish an innovative methodology for monitoring of OA, replicable across the world. The authors of this proposal are the inventors of the core technology. As a second step, we propose to monitor and model seawater carbonate chemistry (pH-alkalinity) and reef calcification capacity in five sites (Okinawa, Hawaii, Réunion, Mayotte Islands, and Tonga). Other good practices in OA management will be evaluated for cross-learning between the five sites. One example we are aiming to evaluate is seaweed farming to absorb CO2 and promote coral growth. Fisheries in Onna-son village in Okinawa, Japan have been culturing corals and seaweed simultaneously for decades with empirical knowledge that they stimulate mutual growth, but with no knowledge of the underlying mechanism. By providing scientific evidence, this "Onna-son model" may be of potential interest in other sites. The final objective of this consortium is to construct a "toolbox" consisting of tools such as methodology and good practices in science, technology, socio-economic models, climate change adaptation/mitigation, and policy aimed at ameliorating negative impacts of OA in coral reefs. We aim to maintain close communication with local and national stakeholders as well as international organizations throughout the project. We will conduct outreach, education and training efforts at both local and international events. Data management will be conducted in line with the Belmont Forum Open Data Policy and Principles. Special attention will be paid to the gender dimensions of the project.

This project addresses soil and water sustainability in landscapes undergoing transitions. Management and social-cultural changes create transitions, altering watershed properties (soil and water quality, and related ecosystem services) in a manner that stakeholders may not understand or appreciate. Yet changes affect stakeholders, what they want to preserve or change, and their views of land management strategies. The general theme of this project, to occur in France, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, and the United States, is to determine actual and perceived effects of land use transitions on critical zone (CZ) function in the context of land abandonment. Actual effects will consider biogeochemical cycles under changing inputs of altered land management. Water flows and nutrient concentration/discharge analysis of watersheds will apply available long-term data sets to assess transitions in the CZ that affect biogeochemical cycles, with supplemental sampling during the project. With input from stakeholders we will answer questions such as "Do abandoned landscapes return to a "natural" state or are novel ecosystems generated? and "How does environmental quality/ecosystem health vary based on current and future pathways of CZ dynamics, among landscapes with different land use management? Perceived effects will consider stakeholder expectation, preference and evaluation of ecosystem services and disservices. We will test the extent to which heterogeneity in such perceptions is a function of differences between and within stakeholders (e.g., urban vs. rural, resident vs. visitor, and endorsement of environmental values), and how change is framed across different spatial scales from a local to watershed scale or beyond (e.g., whether change reflects more vs. less human use of land and the reasons for change). We will examine associations between perceptions and support for land use change and management decisions (self-sustained or policy-driven), and inform ways to effectively communicate with stakeholders and consider their views of land use conversion and restoration.