Rachel Villani is a Biologist at WARC.
EDUCATION
MS, Wildlife Ecology, Louisiana State University, May 2010 -- Thesis: Multi-Scale Habitat Associations of Shorebirds During Spring Migration in Southwestern Louisiana Rice Fields
BS, Wildlife and Fisheries, Louisiana State University, May 2007
Since 2010, Rachel has been working on the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) funded by the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act (CWPPRA). CRMS is a large-scale, long-term monitoring project that was developed to assess effectiveness of individual coastal wetland restoration projects while monitoring the ecological condition of wetlands across the entire coastal Louisiana landscape. CRMS is one of the largest wetland projects in the world, with nearly 400 stations in the network and all data is available publicly. Rachel is responsible for all aspects of field data collection for CRMS, including seasonal accretion and surface elevation changes, discrete and continuous hydrologic parameters, and yearly vegetation surveys.
Science and Products
Spatiotemporal dynamics of soil carbon following coastal wetland loss at a Louisiana coastal salt marsh in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain in 2019
This dataset provides the water content, bulk density, carbon concentrations, nitrogen concentrations, and carbon content of all fourteen cores sampled in coastal Louisiana (CRMS 0224) in October of 2019. Each sample is identified by a unique identifier that corresponds to each site by depth increment combination. The pond age range associated with each site is provided. The depth increment associ
Vegetation Types in Coastal Louisiana in 2021
Coastwide vegetation surveys have been conducted multiple times over the past 50 years (e.g. Chabreck and Linscombe 1968, 1978, 1988, 1997, 2001, and 2013) by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) in support of coastal management activities. The last survey was conducted in 2013 and was funded by the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) and the U.S. Geo
Developing bare-earth digital elevation models from structure-from-motion data on barrier islands, Dauphin Island, AL, 2018-2019
This U.S. Geological Survey data release includes bare-earth digital elevation models (DEMs) that were produced by removing elevation bias in vegetated areas from structure-from-motion (SfM) data products for two sites on Dauphin Island, Alabama. These data were collected in the late fall of 2018 and spring of 2019. In addition to the bare-earth DEMs, this data release also includes vegetation mas
Barrier island vegetation and elevation survey, Dauphin Island, AL, 2018-19
Vegetation and elevation survey data were collected in 4-square-meter quadrats via Real-Time Kinematic GPS from September 9, 2018 to April 17, 2019 on Dauphin Island, AL. Vegetation data included total percent herbaceous cover, percent cover by plant species, and mean height of vegetation within the quadrat. The percent cover by species was used to determine the dominant species for the plot.
Louisiana's Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) elevation data
Wetland restoration efforts conducted by the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in Louisiana rely on monitoring efforts to determine the efficacy of these efforts. The Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) was developed to assist in a multiple-reference approach that uses aspects of hydrogeomorphic functional assessments and probabilistic sampling for monitor
A model of the spatiotemporal dynamics of soil carbon following coastal wetland loss applied to a Louisiana salt marsh in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain
The potential for carbon sequestration in coastal wetlands is high due to protection of carbon (C) in flooded soils. However, excessive flooding can result in the conversion of the vegetated wetland to open water. This transition results in the loss of wetland habitat in addition to the potential loss of soil carbon. Thus, in areas experiencing rapid wetland submergence, such as the Mississippi Ri
Science and Products
- Data
Spatiotemporal dynamics of soil carbon following coastal wetland loss at a Louisiana coastal salt marsh in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain in 2019
This dataset provides the water content, bulk density, carbon concentrations, nitrogen concentrations, and carbon content of all fourteen cores sampled in coastal Louisiana (CRMS 0224) in October of 2019. Each sample is identified by a unique identifier that corresponds to each site by depth increment combination. The pond age range associated with each site is provided. The depth increment associVegetation Types in Coastal Louisiana in 2021
Coastwide vegetation surveys have been conducted multiple times over the past 50 years (e.g. Chabreck and Linscombe 1968, 1978, 1988, 1997, 2001, and 2013) by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) in support of coastal management activities. The last survey was conducted in 2013 and was funded by the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) and the U.S. GeoDeveloping bare-earth digital elevation models from structure-from-motion data on barrier islands, Dauphin Island, AL, 2018-2019
This U.S. Geological Survey data release includes bare-earth digital elevation models (DEMs) that were produced by removing elevation bias in vegetated areas from structure-from-motion (SfM) data products for two sites on Dauphin Island, Alabama. These data were collected in the late fall of 2018 and spring of 2019. In addition to the bare-earth DEMs, this data release also includes vegetation masBarrier island vegetation and elevation survey, Dauphin Island, AL, 2018-19
Vegetation and elevation survey data were collected in 4-square-meter quadrats via Real-Time Kinematic GPS from September 9, 2018 to April 17, 2019 on Dauphin Island, AL. Vegetation data included total percent herbaceous cover, percent cover by plant species, and mean height of vegetation within the quadrat. The percent cover by species was used to determine the dominant species for the plot.Louisiana's Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) elevation data
Wetland restoration efforts conducted by the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in Louisiana rely on monitoring efforts to determine the efficacy of these efforts. The Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) was developed to assist in a multiple-reference approach that uses aspects of hydrogeomorphic functional assessments and probabilistic sampling for monitor - Publications
A model of the spatiotemporal dynamics of soil carbon following coastal wetland loss applied to a Louisiana salt marsh in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain
The potential for carbon sequestration in coastal wetlands is high due to protection of carbon (C) in flooded soils. However, excessive flooding can result in the conversion of the vegetated wetland to open water. This transition results in the loss of wetland habitat in addition to the potential loss of soil carbon. Thus, in areas experiencing rapid wetland submergence, such as the Mississippi Ri - Multimedia
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