Research Expands Understanding of Wetland Ecosystems
Louisiana Scientists Lead the Way in Coastal Restoration
Picking his way through dense marsh grass, a hydrologist collects water samples to investigate the impact of a sediment diversion on estuarine water quality.
Working with sophisticated software, an oceanographer models the impact of storm surge moving across a south Louisiana wetland. Using cloning technology, a plant biologist researches a means to improve aerial propagation of smooth cordgrass.
In high-tech facilities and the living laboratory of the state’s coast, Louisiana scientists conduct research that broadens our understanding of wetland and deltaic ecosystems, helping shape restoration projects locally and globally.
“The state’s scientists were pioneers in developing wetland science as a discipline and the world’s understanding of how a river delta works,” says Robert Twilley, professor of oceanography and coastal sciences at Louisiana State University (LSU). “Today Louisiana’s scientific community remains a global leader in understanding coastal and deltaic ecosystems.”
Wetland Decline Spawns Scientific Community
Crumbling shorelines, drowning marshes, vanishing barrier islands: In the 1960s, scientists began to observe the ill effects of human intrusion on the state’s once pristine wetlands. Louisiana Sea Grant (www.laseagrant.org) was founded in 1968 to research the problems facing the coast.
To predict the impact of future climate change on the state’s wetlands, scientists studied how elevated carbon dioxide levels affected marsh vegetation in a Louisiana wildlife refuge.
Louisiana Sea Grant College Program
“Out of a need to understand what was happening to our own wetlands, we built a community of world-renowned scientists,” says Chuck Wilson, Sea Grant executive director. Based at LSU, Louisiana Sea Grant fosters collaboration among scientists at 15 universities and institutes. Recent Sea Grant research studied the effects of oil spills on marsh vegetation, examined the roles of wetland vegetation and cypress forest in abating storm surge, and investigated the impact of river diversions on adjacent wetland processes.
“Sea Grant research encompasses social as well as natural sciences,” Wilson says. “How do we protect human life and property while restoring natural processes? How do people respond to natural events such as land loss and hurricanes? As we study ways to preserve and restore wetlands, we also seek ways to make coastal communities as resilient as possible.”
Remote Lab Provides Access to Wetlands
In a vast expanse of salt marsh at the southern edge of Terrebonne Parish sits the launch pad for wide-ranging marine and wetland research: the sprawling W. J. DeFelice Marine Center, the primary facility for the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON). Here, LUMCON facilitates the study of coastal ecosystems by providing laboratories, a library, and two research vessels to visiting scientists and the consortium’s own research staff.
In Calcasieu Lake, a team of researchers tagged spotted seatrout to track how the species uses different types of habitat. “The information will help identify restoration practices that provide the most beneficial habitat for our fisheries,” explains Chuck Wilson, Louisiana Sea Grant executive director.
Louisiana Sea Grant College Program
“If you want to do research in the wetlands, this is the perfect place to do it,” says Nancy Rabalais, LUMCON’s executive director. “Our location provides access to barrier islands, beaches, coastal cheniers, and salt, brackish and freshwater marshes.”
LUMCON also administers funding for the Coastal Restoration and Enhancement through Science and Technology (CREST) program, a consortium of 12 institutions in Louisiana and Mississippi that sponsors small research projects with the potential to make big discoveries. Since the program’s inception in 2002, CREST has funded more than 30 projects, including research that explored ways to improve vegetative plantings on barrier islands, analyzed the impact of state law on coastal restoration, and located rich deposits of sand suitable for rebuilding barrier islands.
Developed in an LSU lab, new strains of common marsh plants could one day allow quick, economical aerial seeding of remote wetland restoration sites.
Louisiana Sea Grant College Program
In addition to providing funds for research, CREST organizes conferences on restoration topics. “Our aim is to introduce new ideas into coastal restoration,” explains Piers Chapman, CREST’s executive director. “We hope to improve science by stirring debate.”
Modeling Program Provides Predictive Tools
Within the Coastal Louisiana Ecosystem Assessment and Restoration program (CLEAR), based at LSU and funded by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, scientists from LSU, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the University of New Orleans and the U.S. Geological Survey develop sophisticated modeling and forecasting tools to help project planners predict how the coastal ecosystem will respond to restoration projects, major storms and other changes. In one project, CLEAR investigators are working with the National Center for Earth Surface Dynamics to create a cutting edge land-building model.
“Project planners want to know how much land a particular technique will build, where it will be and what will grow on it,” explains Twilley, CLEAR’s principal investigator. “Whether it’s rebuilding an island or determining how multiple projects will work in synergy, decisions about restoring an ecosystem are complicated. CLEAR’s goal is to ensure good science is the first consideration in every decision made for the future of our coast.”