Sarai Piazza
Biography
EDUCATION
M.S., Louisiana State University, 2003 -- Thesis: Nekton use and growth in three brackish marsh pond microhabitats
B.S., Marine Fisheries, Texas A&M University, 1998
B.S., Marine Biology, Texas A&M University, 1998
Sarai began working at the Wetland and Aquatic Research Center in 2006 with a group of field ecologists interested in monitoring and assessment of coastal restoration projects. She now serves as the program manager for the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) funded by the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA). CRMS is one of the world's largest wetland monitoring programs with publically available data. Since 2006, nearly 400 CRMS sites have been collecting data throughout Louisiana's coastal zone monitoring aspects of wetland hydrology, vegetation, surface elevation and land area change. As program manager, Sarai represents USGS as the federal sponsor for CRMS. She is responsible for all aspects of budgeting, contracting, coordination, work planning, supervision and staffing. Program level interactions require regular coordination with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana and 5 federal partner agencies. She also acts as a liaison between the CRMS analytical teams and data delivery teams to develop web tools and maintain the CRMS website.
Science and Products
Creating a System-Wide Assessment and Monitoring Program (SWAMP) for Coastal Louisiana
USGS researchers will provide technical guidance to inform the development of monitoring plans for the western coast of Louisiana.
Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS)
CRMS uses a multiple reference approach to biological monitoring and uses aspects of hydrogeomorphic functional assessments and probabilistic sampling that address the limited effectiveness of the traditional paired-reference monitoring approach in Louisiana.
This approach includes a suite of sites that encompass the range of ecological conditions for each stratum, with projects placed...
Louisiana’s Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS)
The Coastwise Reference Monitoring System was designed to monitor the effectiveness of restoration actions at individual sites, as well as across the entire Louisiana coast.
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.
Louisiana Adaptive Management Status and Improvement Report: Vision and Recommendations
As part of the process to increase implementation of adaptive management for ecosystem-based coastal restoration within Louisiana, we aim for this report to be broadly applicable across planning processes as well as funding and implementing entities. It compiles technical knowledge and guidance summarized as key findings through the text which...
Boshart, Bill; Crutcher, Morgan; Freeman, Angelina; Haywood, Edward; Khalil, Syed M.; Langlois, Summer; Lee, Darin L.; Lindquist, David; McGinnis, Tommy E.; Pahl, James; Parsons-Richards, Carol; Plitsch, Erin; Raynie, Rick; Routon, Robert; Sharp, Leigh Anne; Troutman, John; Villarrubia, Chuck; Folse, Todd; Graugnard, Alyson; Hawes, Anne; Joffrion, Russ; Leblanc, Wes; Lezina, Brian; Pahl, Jim; White, Jody; Conzelmann, Craig; Hijuelos, Ann; Piazza, Sarai; Spear, Kathryn A.; Steyer, Gregory D.; Regalado, Nanciann; Tirpak, John M.; Schupp, Courtney; Carle, Melissa; Daly, Jaclyn; Eckhardt, Nicolas; Fellas, Christy; Fougeres, Erin M.; Heverly, Stephen; Horstman, Stacey; Kroll, Jason; Landry, Mel; Schroeder, Barbara A.; Weissberger, Eric; Wissman, Sara; Grayson, Treda; Taylor, Patricia; Wiegand, Danny; Defley, Mark; Kolic, Paulina; Bienn, Harris; Carruthers, Tim J.B.; Dausman, Alyssa; Grace, Alaina; Hemmerling, Scott; Jerabek, Andrea; White, Eric; Clark, Ryan; McHugh, Coleen; Moss, Leland C; Ramatchandirane, Cyndhia; Wold, AmyUsing maintenance records from a long-term sensor monitoring network to evaluate the relationship between maintenance schedule and data quality
Sensor-based environmental monitoring networks are beginning to provide the large-scale, long-term data required to address important fundamental and applied questions in ecology. However, the data quality from deployed sensors can be difficult and costly to ensure. In this study, we use maintenance records from the 12-year history of Louisiana’s...
Schoolmaster, Donald; Piazza, SaraiMonitoring plans for Louisiana’s system-wide assessment and monitoring program (SWAMP). Version IV
The System-Wide Assessment and Monitoring Program (SWAMP) has been envisioned as a long-term monitoring program to ensure a comprehensive network of coastal data collection activities is in place to support the development, implementation, and adaptive management of the coastal protection and restoration program within coastal Louisiana. The...
Hemmerling, Scott; Baustian, Melissa M.; Bienn, Harris; Dausman, Alyssa; Grace, Alaina; Grimley, Lauren; McInnis, Adrian; Vingiello, Michael; Vu, Huy; Sable, Shaye; Gentile, Britt; Lafargue, Phillip; Hijuelos, Ann; Piazza, Sarai; Stagg, Camille; Raynie, Richard C; Haywood, Edward; Khalid, SyedFloristic quality index and forested floristic quality index: Assessment tools for restoration projects and monitoring sites in coastal Louisiana
The Floristic Quality Index (FQI) has been used in many areas throughout the United State to assess the integrity of plant communities and restoration projects. Here, we summarize two tools that have been developed for monitoring sites in coastal Louisiana wetlands. The FQI was modified for herbaceous data collected in coastal Louisiana monitoring...
Dorney, John; Savage, Rick; Tiner, R.W.; Adamus, Paul; Cretini, Kari; Wood, William B.; Visser, Jenneke M.; Krauss, Ken W.; Sharp, Leigh Anne; Steyer, Gregory D.; Shaffer, Gary P.; Piazza, SaraiVegetation cover, tidal amplitude and land area predict short-term marsh vulnerability in Coastal Louisiana
The loss of coastal marshes is a topic of great concern, because these habitats provide tangible ecosystem services and are at risk from sea-level rise and human activities. In recent years, significant effort has gone into understanding and modeling the relationships between the biological and physical factors that contribute to marsh stability....
Schoolmaster, Donald; Stagg, Camille L.; Sharp, Leigh Anne; McGinnis, Tommy S.; Wood, Bernard; Piazza, SaraiPrimary 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...
Stagg, Camille L.; Schoolmaster, Donald; Piazza, Sarai; Snedden, Gregg; Steyer, Gregory D.; Fischenich, Craig J; McComas, Robert W.Oiling accelerates loss of salt marshes, southeastern Louisiana
The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill damaged thousands of km2 of intertidal marsh along shorelines that had been experiencing elevated rates of erosion for decades. Yet, the contribution of marsh oiling to landscape-scale degradation and subsequent land loss has been difficult to quantify. Here, we applied advanced remote sensing...
Beland, Michael; Biggs, Trent W.; Roberts, Dar A.; Peterson, Seth H.; Kokaly, Raymond F.; Piazza, SaraiAssessing coastal wetland vulnerability to sea-level rise along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast: Gaps and opportunities for developing a coordinated regional sampling network
Coastal wetland responses to sea-level rise are greatly influenced by biogeomorphic processes that affect wetland surface elevation. Small changes in elevation relative to sea level can lead to comparatively large changes in ecosystem structure, function, and stability. The surface elevation table-marker horizon (SET-MH) approach is being used...
Osland, Michael J.; Griffith, Kereen T.; Larriviere, Jack C.; Feher, Laura C.; Cahoon, Donald R.; Enwright, Nicholas M.; Oster, David A.; Tirpak, John M.; Woodrey, Mark S.; Collini, Renee C.; Baustian, Joseph J.; Breithaupt, Joshua L.; Cherry, Julia A; Conrad, Jeremy R.; Cormier, Nicole; Coronado-Molina, Carlos A.; Donoghue, Joseph F.; Graham, Sean A.; Harper, Jennifer W.; Hester, Mark W.; Howard, Rebecca J.; Krauss, Ken W.; Kroes, Daniel; Lane, Robert R.; McKee, Karen L.; Mendelssohn, Irving A.; Middleton, Beth A.; Moon, Jena A.; Piazza, Sarai; Rankin, Nicole M.; Sklar, Fred H.; Steyer, Gregory D.; Swanson, Kathleen M.; Swarzenski, Christopher M.; Vervaeke, William; Willis, Jonathan M; Van Wilson, K.Forested floristic quality index: An assessment tool for forested wetland habitats using the quality and quantity of woody vegetation at Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) vegetation monitoring stations
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana and the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act, developed the Forested Floristic Quality Index (FFQI) for the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS). The FFQI will help evaluate forested wetland sites on a...
Wood, William B.; Shaffer, Gary P.; Visser, Jenneke M.; Krauss, Ken W.; Piazza, Sarai C.; Sharp, Leigh Anne; Cretini, Kari F.A landscape-scale assessment of above- and belowground primary production in coastal wetlands: Implications for climate change-induced community shifts
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...
Stagg, Camille L.; Schoolmaster, Donald R.; Piazza, Sarai C.; Snedden, Gregg; Steyer, Gregory D.; Fischenich, Craig J; McComas, Robert W.Determining the spatial variability of wetland soil bulk density, organic matter, and the conversion factor between organic matter and organic carbon across coastal Louisiana, U.S.A.
Soil bulk density (BD), soil organic matter (SOM) content, and a conversion factor between SOM and soil organic carbon (SOC) are often used in estimating SOC sequestration and storage. Spatial variability in BD, SOM, and the SOM–SOC conversion factor affects the ability to accurately estimate SOC sequestration, storage, and the benefits (e.g.,...
Wang, Hongqing; Piazza, Sarai C.; Sharp, Leigh A.; Stagg, Camille L.; Couvillion, Brady R.; Steyer, Gregory D.; McGinnis, Thomas E.Mapping changing distributions of dominant species in oil-contaminated salt marshes of Louisiana using imaging spectroscopy
The April 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill was the largest coastal spill in U.S. history. Monitoring subsequent change in marsh plant community distributions is critical to assess ecosystem impacts and to establish future coastal management priorities. Strategically deployed airborne imaging spectrometers, like the Airborne Visible/Infrared...
Beland, Michael; Roberts, Dar A.; Peterson, Seth H.; Biggs, Trent W.; Kokaly, Raymond F.; Piazza, Sarai; Roth, Keely L.; Khanna, Shruti; Ustin, Susan L.