Donald Cahoon, Ph.D.
Donald R. Cahoon, PhD, is a senior research ecologist with the U. S. Geological Survey at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland and an internationally recognized expert in tidal wetland elevation dynamics and wetland vulnerability to climate change effects (e.g., sea-level rise and storms).
He is a Fellow and Past President of the Society of Wetland Scientists. Trained as a botanist and plant ecologist, he has spent the past 30 years working as a physical geographer. In 1992 he developed a field method for measuring tidal wetland accretion and elevation dynamics (the surface elevation table – marker horizon (SET-MH) method) that is used by scientists in coastal wetlands throughout the United States and in 32 countries for evaluating the critical driving forces and subsurface processes controlling elevation, and the impact of current management and restoration practices on elevation dynamics and wetland stability. His research focuses on the processes and external drivers that control wetland elevation dynamics and wetland sustainability across the broad spectrum of coastal environmental settings.
Education/Training:
- BA, Drew University, 1972, Botany
- MS, University of Maryland, 1975, Plant Ecology
- PhD, University of Maryland, 1982, Plant Ecology
Awards:
- DOI, Distinguished Service Award, 2017
- Merit Award, Society of Wetland Scientists, 2011
- Fellow, Society of Wetland Scientists, 2011
- President, Society of Wetland Scientists, 1997-1998
- USGS, Global Change Research Program funding, 1991-present
- Star Award: 1998, 2001, 2006, 2009
Science and Products
Updating Maryland's sea-level rise projections
C3 and C4 biomass allocation responses to elevated CO2 and nitrogen: contrasting resource capture strategies
Sediment infilling and wetland formation dynamics in an active crevasse splay of the Mississippi River delta
Sedimentation and response to sea-level rise of a restored marsh with reduced tidal exchange: Comparison with a natural tidal marsh
Elevation trends and shrink-swell response of wetland soils to flooding and drying
The role of surface and subsurface processes in keeping pace with sea level rise in intertidal wetlands of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia
Vegetation death and rapid loss of surface elevation in two contrasting Mississippi delta salt marshes: The role of sedimentation, autocompaction and sea-level rise
Climate change, sea-level rise, and coastal wetlands
Surface elevation change and susceptibility of different mangrove zones to sea-level rise on Pacific high islands of Micronesia
Coastal wetlands: A synthesis
Evaluation of restored tidal freshwater wetlands
Science and Products
- Science
- Data
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 98
Updating Maryland's sea-level rise projections
With its 3,100 miles of tidal shoreline and low-lying rural and urban lands, “The Free State” is one of the most vulnerable to sea-level rise. Historically, Marylanders have long had to contend with rising water levels along its Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean and coastal bay shores. Shorelines eroded and low-relief lands and islands, some previously inhabited, were inundated. Prior to the 2AuthorsDonald F. Boesch, Larry P. Atkinson, William C. Boicourt, John D. Boon, Donald R. Cahoon, Robert A. Dalrymple, Tal Ezer, Benjamin P. Horton, Zoe P. Johnson, Robert E. Kopp, Ming Li, Richard H. Moss, Adam Parris, Christopher K. SommerfieldC3 and C4 biomass allocation responses to elevated CO2 and nitrogen: contrasting resource capture strategies
Plants alter biomass allocation to optimize resource capture. Plant strategy for resource capture may have important implications in intertidal marshes, where soil nitrogen (N) levels and atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) are changing. We conducted a factorial manipulation of atmospheric CO2 (ambient and ambient + 340 ppm) and soil N (ambient and ambient + 25 g m-2 year-1) in an intertidal marsh coAuthorsK.P. White, J.A. Langley, Donald R. Cahoon, J.P. MegonigalSediment infilling and wetland formation dynamics in an active crevasse splay of the Mississippi River delta
Crevasse splay environments provide a mesocosm for evaluating wetland formation and maintenance processes on a decadal time scale. Site elevation, water levels, vertical accretion, elevation change, shallow subsidence, and plant biomass were measured at five habitats along an elevation gradient to evaluate wetland formation and development in Brant Pass Splay; an active crevasse splay of the BalizAuthorsDonald R. Cahoon, David A. White, James C. LynchSedimentation and response to sea-level rise of a restored marsh with reduced tidal exchange: Comparison with a natural tidal marsh
Along coasts and estuaries, formerly embanked land is increasingly restored into tidal marshes in order to re-establish valuable ecosystem services, such as buffering against flooding. Along the Scheldt estuary (Belgium), tidal marshes are restored on embanked land by allowing a controlled reduced tide (CRT) into a constructed basin, through a culvert in the embankment. In this way tidal water levAuthorsW. Vandenbruwaene, T. Maris, Donald R. Cahoon, P. Meire, S. TemmermanElevation trends and shrink-swell response of wetland soils to flooding and drying
Given the potential for a projected acceleration in sea-level rise to impact wetland sustainability over the next century, a better understanding is needed of climate-related drivers that influence the processes controlling wetland elevation. Changes in local hydrology and groundwater conditions can cause short-term perturbations to marsh elevation trends through shrink–swell of marsh soils. To beAuthorsDonald R. Cahoon, Brian C. Perez, Bradley D. Segura, James C. LynchThe role of surface and subsurface processes in keeping pace with sea level rise in intertidal wetlands of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia
Increases in the elevation of the soil surfaces of mangroves and salt marshes are key to the maintenance of these habitats with accelerating sea level rise. Understanding the processes that give rise to increases in soil surface elevation provides science for management of landscapes for sustainable coastal wetlands. Here, we tested whether the soil surface elevation of mangroves and salt marshesAuthorsCatherine E. Lovelock, Vicki Bennion, Alistair Grinham, Donald R. CahoonVegetation death and rapid loss of surface elevation in two contrasting Mississippi delta salt marshes: The role of sedimentation, autocompaction and sea-level rise
From 1990 to 2004, we carried out a study on accretionary dynamics and wetland loss in salt marshes surrounding two small ponds in the Mississippi delta; Old Oyster Bayou (OB), a sediment-rich area near the mouth of the Atchafalaya River and Bayou Chitigue (BC), a sediment-poor area about 70 km to the east. The OB site was stable, while most of the marsh at BC disappeared within a few years. MeasuAuthorsJ.W. Day, G.P. Kemp, D.J. Reed, Donald R. Cahoon, R.M. Boumans, J.M. Suhayda, R. GambrellClimate change, sea-level rise, and coastal wetlands
No abstract available.AuthorsDonald R. Cahoon, G.R. GuntenspergenSurface elevation change and susceptibility of different mangrove zones to sea-level rise on Pacific high islands of Micronesia
Mangroves on Pacific high islands offer a number of important ecosystem services to both natural ecological communities and human societies. High islands are subjected to constant erosion over geologic time, which establishes an important source of terrigeneous sediment for nearby marine communities. Many of these sediments are deposited in mangrove forests and offer mangroves a potentially importAuthorsK. W. Krauss, Donald R. Cahoon, J. A. Allen, K. C. Ewel, J.C. Lynch, Nicole CormierCoastal wetlands: A synthesis
No abstract available.AuthorsE. Wolanski, M.M. Brinson, Donald R. Cahoon, G.M.E. PerilloEvaluation of restored tidal freshwater wetlands
No abstract available.AuthorsA.H. Baldwin, R.S. Hammerschlag, Donald R. Cahoon