Coastal wetlands provide a suite of valuable benefits to people and wildlife, including important habitat, improved water quality, reduced flooding impacts, and protected coastlines. However, in the 21st century accelerated sea-level rise and coastal development are expected to greatly alter coastal landscapes across the globe. The future of coastal wetlands is uncertain, challenging coastal environmental managers to develop conservation strategies that will increase the resilience of these valuable ecosystems to change and preserve the benefits they provide.
One strategy for preparing for the effects of sea-level rise is to ensure that there is space available for coastal wetlands to adapt by migration. In a recent study, researchers identified areas where coastal wetlands may move inland along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast, one of the most wetland-rich and sea-level rise sensitive regions of the world. Building on these findings, this project will produce customized landscape conservation-design products focused on identifying landward migration routes for coastal wetlands. The resulting products will provide environmental managers with information to make decisions to enhance the capacity of coastal wetlands to adapt to sea-level rise and coastal development, protecting these ecosystems and the critical economic and ecological benefits that they provide.
