Andrew From is an Ecologist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Wetland and Aquatic Research Center in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Andrew's interests are in tidal wetland forests encompassing forest structure, below-ground productivity, hydrology, and landscape change associated with sea-level rise and salinity and storm damage. He is familiar with RTK surveying and traditional surveying methods. He began as a GIS Specialist doing delineations (various plants, habitats, etc.), aerial photography interpretation, and mapping mangrove change over time in southwest Florida. He is an MOCC certified motorboat and airboat operator.
Professional Experience
2015 – present, Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Lafayette, LA
2002-2015, GIS specialist (contractor), U.S. Geological Survey, National Wetlands Research Center, Lafayette, LA
Science and Products
Vegetation survey of southwest Florida for use in assessment of the Picayune Strand Restoration Project effects
Mangrove damage along northern Gulf of Mexico from extreme freeze event on February 2021
2021 Gulf of Mexico Mangrove Freeze Damage Data
Data to support surface elevation change and vertical accretion data to support assessment of hummock formation/loss in tidal freshwater forested wetlands along the U.S. Atlantic coast (2009-2021)
Sap flow, leaf water use efficiency, and partial weather station data to support stand water use modeling by nutrient treatment (N, P) for mangroves of Ding Darling NWR, Sanibel Island, Florida (2019-2020)
Sapflow data from two separate but adjoining ecotones on Bannockburn Plantation near Georgetown, South Carolina, USA (2008 and 2009)
Data for leaf photosynthesis and net ecosystem exchange of CO2 and CH4 from wetland forest, marsh, and mudflats under simulated ambient and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (2013-2014)
Fine root production in tidally influenced freshwater forested wetlands in South Carolina and Georgia, USA (2016-2017)
Geographic distribution of black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) in coastal Louisiana in 2009
Soil surface elevation change and vertical accretion data to support the Fruit Farm Creek Mangrove Restoration Project (Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Marco Island, Florida)
Forest structure, regeneration, and soil data to support mangrove forest damage assessment on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, from Hurricane Irma (2018-2019)
Rapid peat development beneath maturing mangrove forests: quantifying ecosystem changes along a 25-year chronosequence of created coastal wetlands
Temperature thresholds for leaf damage from two extreme freeze events (2018 and 2021) near the northern range limit of black mangroves (Avicennia germinans) in southeastern North America
Integrating remote sensing with ground-based observations to quantify the effects of an extreme freeze event on black mangroves (Avicennia germinans) at the landscape scale
Presence of hummock and hollow microtopography reflects shifting balances of shallow subsidence and root zone expansion along forested wetland river gradients
Framework for facilitating mangrove recovery after hurricanes on Caribbean islands
Soil elevation change in mangrove forests and marshes of the greater Everglades: A regional synthesis of surface elevation table-marker horizon (SET-MH) data
Potential for carbon and nitrogen sequestration by restoring tidal connectivity and enhancing soil surface elevations in denuded and degraded south Florida mangrove ecosystems
Belowground productivity varies by assessment technique, vegetation type, and nutrient availability in tidal freshwater forested wetlands transitioning to marsh
Salinity, water level, and forest structure contribute to baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) rhizosphere and endosphere community structure
Structural impacts, carbon losses, and regeneration in mangrove wetlands after two hurricanes on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Rapid peat development beneath created, maturing mangrove forests: Ecosystem changes across a 25-year chronosequence
Soil surface elevation dynamics in a mangrove-to-marsh ecotone characterized by vegetation shifts
Ghost forests of Marco Island: Mangrove mortality driven by belowground soil structural shifts during tidal hydrologic alteration
Science and Products
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Vegetation survey of southwest Florida for use in assessment of the Picayune Strand Restoration Project effects
This release consists of vegetation data collected across an environmental gradient at Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge (TTI NWR) near Naples, Florida, USA. The refuge is within the impact area of the Picayune Strand Restoration Project (PSRP), a large-scale hydrologic restoration project in southwest Florida that was authorized by the U.S. Congress in 2007. Vegetation transects wereMangrove damage along northern Gulf of Mexico from extreme freeze event on February 2021
Climate change is altering the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Quantifying ecosystem responses to extreme events at the landscape scale is critical for understanding and responding to climate-driven change but is constrained by limited data availability. Here, we integrated remote sensing with ground-based observations to quantify landscape-scale vegetation damage from an extrem2021 Gulf of Mexico Mangrove Freeze Damage Data
This data set contains measurements of black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) leaf damage following the February 2021 freeze event that affected mangroves in the northern Gulf of Mexico.Data to support surface elevation change and vertical accretion data to support assessment of hummock formation/loss in tidal freshwater forested wetlands along the U.S. Atlantic coast (2009-2021)
This study evaluated surface elevation change and vertical accretion of sediments in hollows and on top of hummocks associated with the base of tree stems in tidal freshwater forested wetlands. Sites were along a gradient of habitat change from freshwater forest to marsh and tracked hollow subsidence and in-filling with transgression over 6 (Virginia) to 12 (South Carolina/Georgia) years. Both deeSap flow, leaf water use efficiency, and partial weather station data to support stand water use modeling by nutrient treatment (N, P) for mangroves of Ding Darling NWR, Sanibel Island, Florida (2019-2020)
This study evaluated sap flow of neotropical mangrove species subjected to background nutrient loading, and well as fertilization with either nitrogen or phosphorus, at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). Data collections were made seasonally to model stand water use by mangrove forests as a metric of ecosystem stress through alteration of water use potential at the stand level. Data on lSapflow data from two separate but adjoining ecotones on Bannockburn Plantation near Georgetown, South Carolina, USA (2008 and 2009)
These data support a sap flow study, as represented by dual temperature differentials between heated and unheated probes inserted into trees. Data are from two separate field sites, with five tree species recorded every 30 minutes during the time periods of June 29 to August 24, 2008, and March 5 to June 1, 2009. Data were collected from a longleaf pine plantation (Pinus palustris) and a floodplaiData for leaf photosynthesis and net ecosystem exchange of CO2 and CH4 from wetland forest, marsh, and mudflats under simulated ambient and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (2013-2014)
This study evaluated the net ecosystem exchange of CO2 and CH4 from experimental wetland mesocosms established in elevated CO2 and ambient CO2 glasshouses at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Wetland and Aquatic Research Center (Lafayette, Louisiana). The study duration was approximately two years, and these data represent measured and calculated data from four time points, which the investigators assoFine root production in tidally influenced freshwater forested wetlands in South Carolina and Georgia, USA (2016-2017)
This dataset includes fine root productivity data that were estimated via two techniques (serial coring and root in-growth bags) in tidal freshwater wetlands and adjacent oligohaline marshes in coastal South Carolina and Georgia from March 2016 through October 2017.Geographic distribution of black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) in coastal Louisiana in 2009
Black mangrove (Avicennia germinans (L.) L.) has historically occurred along the Louisiana coast in saline wetland habitats, but its distribution has been sparse. Mangroves are tropical to semi-tropical species and their distribution is limited by freezing temperatures. Black mangrove distribution and abundance has increased and decreased in the coastal zone of Louisiana according to freeze frequeSoil surface elevation change and vertical accretion data to support the Fruit Farm Creek Mangrove Restoration Project (Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Marco Island, Florida)
These data represent surface elevation change and vertical accretion time series collected from a series of degraded tidal wetland sites near Goodland, Florida, USA. Surface elevation was measured using a combination of rod surface elevation tables (SETs) and feldspar marker horizons. Here, we document mangrove forest and soil structural changes within transects established in tidally restricted aForest structure, regeneration, and soil data to support mangrove forest damage assessment on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, from Hurricane Irma (2018-2019)
These data support efforts to assess mangrove forest structural response to Hurricane Irma. Data were collected from within Virgin Islands National Park in St John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Datasets include measurements of forest inventory and vitality status, woody debris, regeneration assessment, and organic soil carbon.Rapid peat development beneath maturing mangrove forests: quantifying ecosystem changes along a 25-year chronosequence of created coastal wetlands
Mangrove forests are among the world's most productive and carbon-rich ecosystems. In addition to providing important fish and wildlife habitat and supporting coastal food webs, these coastal wetlands provide many ecosystem goods and services including clean water, stable coastlines, food, recreational opportunities, and stored carbon. Despite a growing understanding of the factors controlling man - Multimedia
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Temperature thresholds for leaf damage from two extreme freeze events (2018 and 2021) near the northern range limit of black mangroves (Avicennia germinans) in southeastern North America
Extreme winter temperatures govern the northern range limit of black mangroves (Avicennia germinans) in southeastern North America. There is a pressing need for studies that advance our understanding of how extreme cold temperature events affect mangroves near their range limits. However, such events are infrequent and challenging to study at regional scales. Here, we compared the damage to mangroAuthorsSimen Kaalstad, Michael Osland, Donna J. Devlin, C. Edward Proffitt, Laura Feher, Anna R. Armitage, Richard Day, Kathleen M. Swanson, Gordon Anderson, Brigid Berger, Just Cebrian, Karen L. Cummins, Kenneth H. Dunton, Ilka C. Feller, Alejandro Fierro-Cabo, Elena A. Flores, Andrew From, A. Randall Hughes, David A. Kaplan, Amy K. Langston, Melinda Martinez, Briana Martinez, Christopher J. Miller, Nathan G.F. Reaver, Colt R. Sanspree, Caitlin M. Snyder, Andrew P. Stetter, Jamie E. Thompson, Carlos Zamora-TovarIntegrating remote sensing with ground-based observations to quantify the effects of an extreme freeze event on black mangroves (Avicennia germinans) at the landscape scale
Climate change is altering the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Quantifying ecosystem responses to extreme events at the landscape scale is critical for understanding and responding to climate-driven change but is constrained by limited data availability. Here, we integrated remote sensing with ground-based observations to quantify landscape-scale vegetation damage from an extremAuthorsMelinda Martinez, Michael Osland, James B. Grace, Nicholas Enwright, Camille Stagg, Simen Kaalstad, Gordon Anderson, Anna R. Armitage, Just Cebrian, Karen L. Cummins, Richard Day, Donna J. Devlin, Kenneth H. Dunton, Laura Feher, Alejandro Fierro-Cabo, Elena A. Flores, Andrew From, A. Randall Hughes, David A. Kaplan, Amy K. Langston, Christopher J. Miller, Charles E. Proffitt, Nathan G.F. Reaver, Colt R. Sanspree, Caitlin M. Snyder, Andrew P. Stetter, Kathleen M. Swanson, Jamie E. Thompson, Carlos Zamora-TovarPresence of hummock and hollow microtopography reflects shifting balances of shallow subsidence and root zone expansion along forested wetland river gradients
Tidal freshwater forested wetlands (TFFWs) are in an active phase of transition to tidal marsh with sea level rise and salinity incursion along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States (U.S.). A prominent feature of TFFWs is hummock/hollow microtopography where hollows represent the flat, base-elevation of the floodplain where inundation occurs relatively frequently, while hummocks providAuthorsKen Krauss, Gregory B. Noe, Jamie A. Duberstein, Nicole Cormier, Andrew From, Tom Doody, William H. Conner, Donald Cahoon, Darren JohnsonFramework for facilitating mangrove recovery after hurricanes on Caribbean islands
Mangrove ecosystems in the Caribbean are frequently exposed to hurricanes, leading to structural and regenerative change that elicit calls for recovery action. For those mangroves unaffected by human modifications, recovery can occur naturally. Indeed, observable natural recovery after hurricanes is the genesis of the “disturbance adaptation” classification for mangroves; while structural legaciesAuthorsKen Krauss, Kevin R.T. Whelan, John Paul Kennedy, Daniel A. Friess, Caroline Rogers, Heather A. Stewart, Kristin Wilson Grimes, Camilo A. Trench, Danielle E. Ogurcak, Catherine A. Toline, Lianne C. Ball, Andrew FromSoil elevation change in mangrove forests and marshes of the greater Everglades: A regional synthesis of surface elevation table-marker horizon (SET-MH) data
Coastal wetlands adapt to rising seas via feedbacks that build soil elevation, which lead to wetland stability. However, accelerated rates of sea-level rise can exceed soil elevation gain, leading to wetland instability and loss. Thus, there is a pressing need to better understand regional and landscape variability in rates of wetland soil elevation change. Here, we conducted a regional synthesisAuthorsLaura Feher, Michael Osland, Karen L. McKee, Kevin R.T. Whelan, Carlos A. Coronado-Molina, Fred H. Sklar, Ken Krauss, Rebecca Howard, Donald Cahoon, James C. Lynch, Lukas Lamb-Wotton, Tiffany G. Troxler, Jeremy R. Conrad, Gordon Anderson, William C. Vervaeke, Thomas J. Smith III, Nicole Cormier, Andrew From, Larry AllainPotential for carbon and nitrogen sequestration by restoring tidal connectivity and enhancing soil surface elevations in denuded and degraded south Florida mangrove ecosystems
Mangroves are tidally dependent wetlands that are influenced often by alterations in hydrology associated with coastal developments that impact their distribution, health, and function. Alteration in frequency, depth, duration, and seasonality of tidal inundation can lead to changes in forest condition, although these stress-adapted ecosystems may persist for many years before succumbing to mortalAuthorsN. Cormier, Ken Krauss, Amanda Demopoulos, Brita J. Jessen, Jennifer McClain Counts, Andrew From, Laura L. FlynnBelowground productivity varies by assessment technique, vegetation type, and nutrient availability in tidal freshwater forested wetlands transitioning to marsh
Wetlands along upper estuaries are characterized by dynamic transitions between forested and herbaceous communities (marsh) as salinity, hydroperiod, and nutrients change. The importance of belowground net primary productivity (BNPP) associated with fine and coarse root growth also changes but remains the dominant component of overall productivity in these important blue carbon wetlands. AppropriaAuthorsAndrew From, Ken Krauss, Gregory B. Noe, N. Cormier, Camille Stagg, Rebecca Moss, Julie L. WhitbeckSalinity, water level, and forest structure contribute to baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) rhizosphere and endosphere community structure
As rising sea levels alter coastal ecosystems, there is a pressing need to examine the effects of saltwater intrusion on coastal communities. Using 16S Illumina profiling, we characterized the communities of baldcypress tree (Taxodium distichum) root endosphere and rhizosphere soil bacteria. Our study utilized established sites along salinity and flooding gradients in the United States of Georgia,AuthorsCandice Y Lumibao, Elizabeth Kimbrough, Steven Formel, Richard Day, Andrew From, William H. Conner, Ken Krauss, Sunshine A Van BaelStructural impacts, carbon losses, and regeneration in mangrove wetlands after two hurricanes on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Hurricanes Irma and Maria ravaged the mangroves of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, in 2017. Basal area losses were large (63–100%) and storm losses of carbon associated with aboveground biomass amounted to 11.9–43.5 Mg C/ha. Carbon biomass of dead standing trees increased 8.1–18.3 Mg C/ha among sites, and carbon in coarse woody debris on the forest floor increased 1.9–18.2 Mg C/ha, with effects varAuthorsKen Krauss, Andrew From, Caroline Rogers, Kevin R.T. Whelan, Kristen W. Grimes, Robert C. Dobbs, Thomas KelleyRapid peat development beneath created, maturing mangrove forests: Ecosystem changes across a 25-year chronosequence
Mangrove forests are among the world’s most productive and carbon‐rich ecosystems. Despite growing understanding of factors controlling mangrove forest soil carbon stocks, there is a need to advance understanding of the speed of peat development beneath maturing mangrove forests— especially in created and restored mangrove forests that are intended to compensate for ecosystem functions lost duringAuthorsMichael J. Osland, Laura C. Feher, Amanda C. Spivak, Janet A. Nestlerode, Alejandro E. Almario, Nicole Cormier, Andrew From, Ken W. Krauss, Marc J. Russell, Federico Alvarez, Darrin D. Dantin, James E. Harvey, Camille L. StaggSoil surface elevation dynamics in a mangrove-to-marsh ecotone characterized by vegetation shifts
Mangrove forest encroachment into coastal marsh habitats has been described in subtropical regions worldwide in recent decades. To better understand how soil processes may influence vegetation change, we studied soil surface elevation change, accretion rates, and soil subsurface change across a coastal salinity gradient in Florida, USA, an area with documented mangrove encroachment into saline marAuthorsRebecca J. Howard, Andrew From, Ken W. Krauss, Kimberly D. Andres, Nicole Cormier, Larry K. Allain, Michael SavareseGhost forests of Marco Island: Mangrove mortality driven by belowground soil structural shifts during tidal hydrologic alteration
Land use changes often create in situ stress and eventual mortality in mangroves as unsuitable hydroperiods are created through tidal flow alterations. Here, we document mangrove forest and soil structural changes within transects established in tidally restricted areas on Marco Island (Collier County, Florida, USA), which has broad swaths of dead-standing or unhealthy mangroves (“ghost forests”).AuthorsKen W. Krauss, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Nicole Cormier, Andrew From, Jennifer P. McClain-Counts, Roy R. Lewis