Resilient oyster populations are critical for functioning estuaries, acting as habitat engineers and natural water filters. Selecting suitable sites for oysters to withstand a changing environment is challenging. This project will produce data and tools such as spatial maps that display the health of oyster reefs under current and future conditions. This research will allow resource managers to identify suitable locations to restore oyster populations for future generations.

Sea-level rise and other impacts of climate change have led to a loss of coastal wetlands. Current practices use freshwater introduction to create marshlands as a form of mitigation. However, it is unclear what impact these practices will have under future climate conditions. This project will assess freshwater influences on restored coastal marshes by developing models that predict wetland function under changing conditions. These products will assist managers in planning adaptive strategies to safeguard wetlands.

Louisiana coastal wetlands are experiencing high rates of sea-level rise, causing a shift in the ecosystem towards more salt-tolerant vegetation. Then excessive flooding and conversion to open water have led to the submergence of the vegetation. These transitions represent a critical uncertainty in coastal wetland carbon budgets. To address these uncertainties, state-of-the-art methods were used to quantify current and future soil carbon sequestration in coastal wetlands. The results of this novel research are being used to inform the work of the Louisiana Climate Initiatives Task Force. In addition, land managers will have access to this critical information for improved restoration planning.

Coastal wetlands are valuable ecosystems with an uncertain future. In the face of a changing climate, coastal resource managers are challenged to develop conservation strategies to increase resilience. This project produced regional assessments to identify prime locations for wetland migration. Outputs from this research show that the potential for landward migration of wetlands is very high in multiple sites on the northern Gulf Mexico coast. This information produced from this research will allow managers to identify, protect, and manage the migration of wetlands.