USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Staff Profile

Donald R. Cahoon USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Beltsville Lab, c/o BARC-East, Building 308, Rm 223 10300 Baltimore Avenue Beltsville, MD 20705
Telephone: 301-497-5523 Fax: 301-497-5624 Email: dcahoon@usgs.gov Research Ecologist
Primary Responsibilities: Conduct research on the processes controlling wetland vertical accretion and elevation change in coastal ecosystems in order to: (1) determine the impacts of sea-level rise on long-term marsh stability, (2) identify the processes of wetland loss, submergence, and soil erosion in both natural and managed coastal marshes, and (3) evaluate the effectiveness of wetland restoration and management techniques (e.g., sediment introduction via crevasses and thin-layer disposal of dredged material, managed hydrology by impoundments and freshwater introductions, and restoration of tidal exchange in impounded and diked marshes) at restoring wetland sediment elevation.
Education/Training: BA, Drew University, 1972, Botany MS, University of Maryland, 1975, Plant Ecology PhD, University of Maryland, 1982, Plant Ecology
Areas of Expertise/Interest: Wetland plant ecology, wetland accretionary processes, wetland restoration and management, and wetland soils and hydrologic processes
Accomplishments/Awards/Achievements: President, Society of Wetland Scientists, 1997-1998 USGS, Global Change Research Program funding, 1991-present Star Award: 1998, 2001, 2006
Active Projects: Predicting the persistence of coastal wetland to global change effects Improved identification and delineation of lands vulnerable to sea-level rise: communicating the risk Ecological effects of sea-level rise on coastal North Carolina marshes Do annual prescribed fires enhance or slow the loss of coastal marsh habitat at Blackwater NWR? Monitoring salt marsh development processes at Jamaica Bay, Gateway NRA, New York Post-hurricane wetland elevation-accretion monitoring with the SET-MH network in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida Gulf of Mexico SET-MH Network: development of a landscape framework to understand the role of chronic low-level stress and infrequent, high magnitude disturbances on coastal ecosystems of the Northern Gulf of Mexico Marsh elevation dynamics at Blackwater NWR using surface elevation tables
Publications/Products: McKee, KL, DR Cahoon and IC Feller 2007. Caribbean mangroves adjust to rising sea level through biotic controls on change in soil elevation. Global Ecology and Biogeography DOI: 10.1111/j.1466-8238.2007.00317.x Cahoon, DR 2006. A review of major storm impacts on coastal wetland elevation. Estuaries and Coasts 29 (6A):889-898 Cahoon, DR, PF Hensel, T Spencer, DJ Reed, KL McKee, and N Saintilan 2006. Coastal wetland vulnerability to relative sea-level rise: wetland elevation trends and process controls. Pages 271-292, In: JTA Verhoeven, B. Beltman, R. Bobboink, and D Whigham (Eds.) Wetlands and Natural Resource Management. Ecological Studies, Volume 190, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg Whelan, KRT, TJ Smith III, DR Cahoon, JC Lynch, and GH Anderson 2005. Groundwater control of mangrove surface elevation: shrink-swell of mangrove soils varies with depth. Estuaries 28:833-843 Cahoon, DR, MA Ford, PF Hensel 2004. Ecogemorphology of Spartina patens-dominated tidal marshes: soil organic matter accumulation, marsh elevation dynamics, and disturbance. Pages 247-266 In: S. Fagherazzi, M Marani, and LK Blum (Eds.) The Ecogeomorphology of Tidal Marshes, Coastal Estuarine Studies volume 59, AGU Cahoon, DR, PF Hensel, J Rybczyk, KL McKee, CE Proffitt and BC Perez 2003. Mass tree mortality leads to mangrove peat collapse at Bay Islands, Honduras after Hurricane Mitch. Journal of Ecology 91:1093-1105. Chmura, GL, SC Anisfeld, DR Cahoon, and JC Lynch 2003. Global carbon sequestration in tidal, saline wetland soils. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 17:22-1 to 22-14. Cahoon, DR, JC Lynch, PF Hensel, RM Boumans, BC Perez, B Segura, and JW Day, Jr. 2002. High precision measurement of wetland sediment elevation: I. recent improvements to the sedimentation-erosion table. Journal of Sedimentary Research 72:730-733 Cahoon, DR, JC Lynch, BC Perez, B Segura, R Holland, C Stelly, G Stephenson, and PF Hensel 2002. High precision measurement of wetland sediment elevation: II. the rod surface elevation table. Journal of Sedimentary Research 72:734-739 Rybczyk, JM and DR Cahoon 2002. Estimating the potential for submergence for two subsiding wetlands in the Mississippi River delta. Estuaries 25:985-998 Cahoon, D. R., J. French, T. Spencer, D. J. Reed, and I. Moller. 2000. Vertical accretion versus elevational adjustment in UK salt marshes: an evaluation of alternative methodologies. In Pye, K. & J. R. Allen (eds.). Coastal and Estuarine Environments: sedimentology, geomorphology and geoarchaeology. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 175, 223-238. Cahoon, D. R., J. W. Day, Jr., and D. J. Reed. 1999. The influence of surface and shallow subsurface soil processes on wetland elevation: a synthesis. Current Topics in Wetland Biogeochemistry 3: 72-88. Cahoon, D. R., D. J. Reed, and J. W. Day, Jr. 1995. Estimating shallow subsidence in microtidal salt marshes of the southeastern United States: Kaye and Barghoorn revisited. Marine Geology 128: 1-9. Cahoon, D. R. 1994. Recent accretion in two managed marsh impoundments in coastal Louisiana. Ecological Applications 4: 166-176. Cahoon, D. R. and J. C. Stevenson. 1986. Production, predation and decomposition in a low salinity Hibiscus marsh. Ecology 67: 1341-1350.

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