Camille LaFosse Stagg, Ph.D.
Camille Stagg is a Research Ecologist at the Wetland and Aquatic Research Center in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Camille's research focuses on how ecosystem functions, such as elevation change, carbon cycling, and resilience, are affected by global stressors. Her goal is to understand how these processes respond to changing conditions, including rising sea levels, elevated atmospheric CO2, and land use change, to provide guidance for management and restoration of these dynamic ecosystems.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, 2009
M.S., Environmental Toxicology, Clemson University, 2004
B.S., Biology, Christian Brothers University, 2002
Science and Products
Factors Controlling Resilience and Resistance of Coastal Salt Marshes to Sudden Marsh Dieback
RESTORE Science: Inventory of Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Indicators Using an Ecological Resilience Framework
Influence of Sea-Level Rise on Wetland Vegetation Community Structure, Primary Productivity, Organic Matter Decomposition and Carbon Storage
Rapid peat development beneath maturing mangrove forests: quantifying ecosystem changes along a 25-year chronosequence of created coastal wetlands
Local and landscape-scale data describing patterns of coastal wetland loss in the Texas Chenier Plain, U.S.A.
Salt marsh phenology and sexual reproductive characteristics at reference and restored sites in Louisiana, USA (2016)
Salt marsh carbon dynamics under altered hydrologic regimes and elevated CO2 conditions, Louisiana, USA (2014-2015)
Early growth interactions between a mangrove and an herbaceous salt marsh species are not affected by elevated CO2 or drought, Louisiana saltmarsh, 2015
Primary production across a coastal wetland landscape in Louisiana, U.S.A. (2012-2014)
Organic matter decomposition across a coastal wetland landscape in Louisiana, U.S.A. (2014-2015)
Elevation change along a coastal wetland landscape gradient from tidal freshwater forested wetland to oligohaline marsh in the Southeastern U.S.A. (2009-2014)
Linear and nonlinear effects of temperature and precipitation on ecosystem properties in tidal saline wetlands
Organic matter decomposition along coastal wetland landscape gradient from tidal freshwater forested wetland to oligohaline marsh in Southeastern U.S.A. (2010-2011)
Vegetation, soil, and landscape data
Preface to book: Wetland carbon and environmental management
Modeling the impacts of hydrology and management on carbon balance at the Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia and North Carolina, USA
Summary of wetland carbon and environmental management: Path forward
Carbon fluxes and potential soil accumulation within Greater Everglades cypress and pine forested wetlands
Carbon flux, storage, and wildlife co-benefits in a restoring estuary
The importance of wetland carbon dynamics to society: Insight from the Second State of the Carbon Cycle Science Report
Ecosystem service co-benefits provided through wetland carbon management
Tradeoffs in habitat value to maximize natural resource benefits from coastal restoration in a rapidly eroding wetland: Is monitoring land area sufficient?
Extreme precipitation and flooding contribute to sudden vegetation dieback in a coastal salt marsh
Belowground productivity varies by assessment technique, vegetation type, and nutrient availability in tidal freshwater forested wetlands transitioning to marsh
Long-term carbon sinks in marsh soils of coastal Louisiana are at risk to wetland loss
Improved wetland soil organic carbon stocks of the conterminous U.S. through data harmonization
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
- Science
Filter Total Items: 15
Factors Controlling Resilience and Resistance of Coastal Salt Marshes to Sudden Marsh Dieback
Sudden Marsh Dieback - SMD - has been documented for the past two decades throughout coastal areas of the United States. With these large-scale diebacks comes the loss of ecosystem functions and services. USGS scientsts use field work and greenhouse studies to investigate the factors that control the resilience and resistance of coastal salt marshes to SMD.RESTORE Science: Inventory of Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Indicators Using an Ecological Resilience Framework
To effectively manage an ecosystem, resource managers need a way to evaluate its health and ability to function. Metrics that indicate ecosystem condition - or indicators - can be used to help determine how well management strategies work.Influence of Sea-Level Rise on Wetland Vegetation Community Structure, Primary Productivity, Organic Matter Decomposition and Carbon Storage
This study will employ a space for time substitution to show long-term effects of rising sea-level and increasing salinity on vegetation community structure, primary production and decomposition. Productivity and decomposition rates will be estimated for four wetland plant community types defined by salinity zones and dominant plant species. - Data
Filter Total Items: 23
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 manLocal and landscape-scale data describing patterns of coastal wetland loss in the Texas Chenier Plain, U.S.A.
We characterized coastal wetland responses to flooding stress by measuring vegetation cover, wetland elevation and water elevation in healthy and degrading wetlands dominated by Spartina patens. Wetland elevation was measured using real-time kinematic survey methods. Vegetation cover was determined by visual estimation methods, and water elevation was measured using in situ continuous recorders. ISalt marsh phenology and sexual reproductive characteristics at reference and restored sites in Louisiana, USA (2016)
This dataset provides information on plant sexual reproduction of a clonally-spreading perennial species, Spartina alterniflora. We investigated flowering phenology, potential seed and seedling production, and flower damage in reference and restored sites in southeastern Louisiana. Additional covariates of elevation and soil parameters were used to investigate underlying mechanisms of differences.Salt marsh carbon dynamics under altered hydrologic regimes and elevated CO2 conditions, Louisiana, USA (2014-2015)
Plant-mediated processes are often important in determining carbon cycling and storage in ecosystems. With climate-induced changes in the environment, plant-associated processes may also shift. Salt marshes in particular are useful systems to investigate plant-mediated carbon cycling, as these systems experience both sea-level rise and increased carbon dioxide concentrations due to climate change,Early growth interactions between a mangrove and an herbaceous salt marsh species are not affected by elevated CO2 or drought, Louisiana saltmarsh, 2015
In recent decades the encroachment of woody mangrove species into herbaceous marshes has been documented along the U.S. northern Gulf of Mexico coast. These species shifts have been attributed primarily to rising sea levels and warming winter temperatures, but the role of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and water availability may become more prominent drivers of species interactions undePrimary production across a coastal wetland landscape in Louisiana, U.S.A. (2012-2014)
Above- and belowground production in coastal wetlands are important contributors to carbon accumulation and ecosystem sustainability. As sea level rises, we can expect shifts to more salt-tolerant communities, which may alter these ecosystem functions and services. Although the direct influence of salinity on species-level primary production has been documented, we lack an understanding of the lanOrganic matter decomposition across a coastal wetland landscape in Louisiana, U.S.A. (2014-2015)
Coastal wetlands store more carbon than most ecosystems globally. However, little is known about the mechanisms that control the loss of organic matter in coastal wetlands at the landscape scale, and how sea-level rise will impact this important ecological function.Elevation change along a coastal wetland landscape gradient from tidal freshwater forested wetland to oligohaline marsh in the Southeastern U.S.A. (2009-2014)
We assessed the resilience of wetlands to sea-level rise along a transitional gradient from tidal freshwater forested wetland (TFFW) to oligohaline marsh by measuring processes controlling wetland elevation. We identified fundamental differences in how resilience is maintained across wetland community types, which have important implications for management activities that aim to restore or conservLinear and nonlinear effects of temperature and precipitation on ecosystem properties in tidal saline wetlands
Macroclimatic drivers, such as temperature and rainfall regimes, greatly influence ecosystem structure and function in tidal saline wetlands. Understanding the ecological influence of macroclimatic drivers is important because it provides a foundation for anticipating the effects of climate change. Tidal saline wetlands include mangrove forests, salt marshes, and salt flats, which occupy similar gOrganic matter decomposition along coastal wetland landscape gradient from tidal freshwater forested wetland to oligohaline marsh in Southeastern U.S.A. (2010-2011)
Coastal wetlands significantly contribute to global carbon storage potential. Sea-level rise and other climate change-induced disturbances threaten coastal wetland sustainability and carbon storage capacity. It is critical that we understand the mechanisms controlling wetland carbon loss so that we can predict and manage these resources in anticipation of climate change.Vegetation, soil, and landscape data
The northern Gulf of Mexico coast spans two major climate gradients and represents an excellent natural laboratory for developing climate-influenced ecological models. In this project, we used these zones of remarkable transition to develop macroclimate-based models for quantifying the regional responses of coastal wetland ecosystems to climate variation. In addition to providing important fish an - Publications
Filter Total Items: 60
Preface to book: Wetland carbon and environmental management
The idea for this book, including its organization and contents, has its origin in the latest environmental and climate policy requirements in the United States, as well as science advances. In 2007, the U.S. Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), from which Section 712 required U.S. Federal agencies to provide a better understanding of carbon and greenhouse gas fluxes acAuthorsKen Krauss, Zhiliang Zhu, Camille StaggModeling the impacts of hydrology and management on carbon balance at the Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia and North Carolina, USA
The impact of drainage on the stability of peatland carbon sinks is well known; however, much less is understood regarding the way active management of the water-table affects carbon balance. In this study, we determined the carbon balance in the Great Dismal Swamp, a large, forested peatland in the southeastern USA, which has been drained for over two hundred years and is now being restored throuAuthorsRachel SleeterSummary of wetland carbon and environmental management: Path forward
Wetlands around the world are under pressure from both anthropogenic sources such as land-use change and accelerating climate change (Erwin, 2009; Moomaw et al., 2018). Storage of carbon resources is a key ecosystem service of wetlands and offer natural solutions to climate change mitigation; policies and management actions could determine the fate of these resources and their contributions to cliAuthorsZhiliang Zhu, Ken Krauss, Camille Stagg, Eric Ward, Victoria WoltzCarbon fluxes and potential soil accumulation within Greater Everglades cypress and pine forested wetlands
In forested wetlands, accumulation of organic matter in soil is partly governed by carbon fluxes where photosynthesis, respiration, lateral advection of waterborne carbon, fire-derived carbon emissions, and methanogenesis are balanced by changes in stored carbon. Stored carbon can eventually accumulate as soil over time if net primary productivity exceeds biomass decomposition. For this study, potAuthorsW. Barclay Shoemaker, Frank E. Anderson, Andre Daniels, Matt SirianniCarbon flux, storage, and wildlife co-benefits in a restoring estuary
Tidal marsh restorations may result in transitional mudflat habitats depending on hydrological and geomorphological conditions. Compared to tidal marsh, mudflats are thought to have limited value for carbon sequestration, carbon storage, and foraging benefits for salmon. We evaluated greenhouse gas exchange, sediment carbon storage, and invertebrate production at restoration and reference tidal maAuthorsIsa Woo, Melanie J. Davis, Susan E. W. De La Cruz, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Judith Z. Drexler, Kristin B. Byrd, Ellen Stuart-Haëntjens, Frank E Anderson, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Glynnis Nakai, Christopher S. Ellings, Sayre HodgsonThe importance of wetland carbon dynamics to society: Insight from the Second State of the Carbon Cycle Science Report
The Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR2) culminated in 19 chapters that spanned all North American sectors – from Energy Systems to Agriculture and Land Use – known to be important for understanding carbon (C) cycling and accounting. Wetlands, both inland and coastal, were found to be significant components of C fluxes along the terrestrial to aquatic hydrologic continuum. In this chaAuthorsRandall Kolka, Carl Trettin, Lisamarie Windham-MyersEcosystem service co-benefits provided through wetland carbon management
What is the role of wetland carbon management in providing ecosystem services? Ecosystem services are the benefits that nature provides to people, and they are often categorized as: provisioning (e.g., food and water), regulating (e.g., climate mitigation and flood protection), cultural (e.g., cultural and recreational), and supporting (e.g., nutrient cycling) services ( www.millenniumassessment.oAuthorsEmily J. PindilliTradeoffs in habitat value to maximize natural resource benefits from coastal restoration in a rapidly eroding wetland: Is monitoring land area sufficient?
Louisiana contains nearly 40% of estuarine herbaceous wetlands in the contiguous United States, supporting valuable ecosystem services and providing significant economic benefits to the state and the entire United States. However, coastal Louisiana is a hotspot for rapid land loss from factors including hurricanes, land use change, and high subsidence rates contributing to high relative sea-levelAuthorsTim J. B. Carruthers, Erin P. Kiskaddon, Melissa M. Baustian, Kelly M. Darnell, Leland C. Moss, Carey L. Perry, Camille StaggExtreme precipitation and flooding contribute to sudden vegetation dieback in a coastal salt marsh
Climate extremes are becoming more frequent with global climate change and have the potential to cause major ecological regime shifts. Along the northern Gulf of Mexico, a coastal wetland in Texas suffered sudden vegetation dieback following an extreme precipitation and flooding event associated with Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Historical salt marsh dieback events have been linked to climate extremeAuthorsCamille Stagg, Michael Osland, Jena A. Moon, Laura Feher, Claudia Laurenzano, Tiffany C. Lane, William Jones, Stephen HartleyBelowground 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. WhitbeckLong-term carbon sinks in marsh soils of coastal Louisiana are at risk to wetland loss
Coastal marshes are essential habitats for soil carbon accumulation and burial, which can influence the global carbon budget. Coastal Louisiana has extensive marsh habitats (fresh, intermediate, brackish, and saline) where soil cores were collected to a depth of 100 cm at 24 sites to assess long-term carbon accumulation and burial rates. Select soil depth intervals were analyzed for bulk density,AuthorsMelissa M. Baustian, Camille Stagg, Carey L. Perry, Leland C. Moss, Tim J. B. CarruthersImproved wetland soil organic carbon stocks of the conterminous U.S. through data harmonization
Wetland soil stocks are important global repositories of carbon (C) but are difficult to quantify and model due to varying sampling protocols, and geomorphic/spatio-temporal discontinuity. Merging scales of soil-survey spatial extents with wetland-specific point-based data offers an explicit, empirical and updatable improvement for regional and continental scale soil C stock assessments. Agency-coAuthorsBergit Rose Uhran, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Norman B. Bliss, Amanda M. Nahlik, Eric T. Sundquist, Camille L. StaggNon-USGS Publications**
Stagg, Camille L. and Mendelssohn, Irving A. 2011. Controls on resilience and stability in a sediment subsidized salt marsh. Ecological Applications, 21(5): 1731-1744.Stagg, Camille L. and Mendelssohn, Irving A. 2012. Littoraria irrorata growth and survival in a sediment-restored salt marsh. Wetlands, 32(4): 643-652.Stagg, C. L., and Mendelssohn, I. A. 2010. Restoring ecological function to a submerged salt marsh. Restoration Ecology, 18: 10-17.**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
- News