USGS National Wetlands Research Center: Coastal Wetland Monitoring

Coastal Wetland Monitoring

Monitoring helps researchers understand the consequences of multiple environmental and anthropogenic stressors on wetland ecosystems. An integrated approach that focuses on ecosystem integrity and sustainability is being employed with long-term data obtained from coastal and inland waters, barrier islands and wetlands.

Changes to ecosystems can result from factors that drive behavior in both natural and anthropogenically influenced systems. An understanding of responses to these changes is important when prescribing ecosystem restoration and management strategies that will enhance the sustainability of ecological systems. New tools and methodologies based on long-term data sets are being developed to strengthen the capacity to assess the sustainability of wetland ecosystems with and without restoration and protection investments. This data predicts the potential consequences of disturbance events and climate change to these systems.

Research

Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) (Dr. Gregory D. Steyer, Sarai Piazza)
Development of Floristic Quality Indices for Herbaceous and Forested Wetlands in Coastal Louisiana (Kari Cretini, Dr. Gregory D. Steyer)
Development of a Hydrologic Index for Coastal Louisiana (Dr. Gregg Snedden)
Development of a Submergence Vulnerability Index for Coastal Louisiana (Dr. Camille Stagg)
Development of a Landscape Change Index for Coastal Louisiana (Brady Couvillion, Michelle Fischer)
CRMS Report Card: A Multi-scale Assessment of Wetland Condition (Sarai Piazza, Kari Cretini, Dr. Gregg Snedden, Brady Couvillion, Michelle Fischer, Dr. Gregory D. Steyer)

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