Ken Krauss, Ph.D.
Ken Krauss is a Research Ecologist at the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 2004
M.S., Forestry, Louisiana State University, 1997
B.S., Biology, University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1994
RESEARCH
Ken Krauss' research spans several habitats, from mangroves to tidal freshwater forested wetlands and marshes. His research takes a multi-tiered approach to understanding eco-physiological processes in coastal wetland forests; defining gas exchange between the soil and atmosphere, and among the leaf, tree, and atmosphere. Research has defined thresholds to tidal freshwater forested wetland habitat change in the face of persistent environmental drivers (esp. sea level rise and salinity), defined the potential of forested wetlands to influence water cycling in coastal areas, and has begun to establish the potential of other wetland types to contribute to water conservation, especially under drought and perennial salinization. Krauss also focuses on the vulnerability of coastal swamp forests and mangroves to sea-level rise, and on how science can inform management and restoration activity within the coastal zone.
BACKGROUND
He has been a scientist with the federal government since 1997, first with the USDA Forest Service in Stoneville, Mississippi and, then, in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he studied sedimentation, systematics, regeneration, growth, invasion biology, and ecophysiology of Pacific island forested wetlands in the Federated States of Micronesia and Hawaii. Krauss began working at the USGS National Wetlands Research Center in 2001 (renamed to USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, or WARC, in 2015), where he maintains an expertise in forest ecology and ecophysiology, and serves as one of WARC's climate change scientists focusing on mangroves and tidal freshwater forested wetlands.
2004-present, Research Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Lafayette, Louisiana
2001-2004, Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey, National Wetlands Research Center, Lafayette, Louisiana
1997-2001, Ecologist, USDA Forest Service, Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, Honolulu, Hawaii
1996-1997, Ecophysiologist Technician, USDA Forest Service, Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Forestry, Stoneville, Mississippi
1995-1996, Graduate Research Assistant, Louisiana State University, School of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Science and Products
How mangrove forests adjust to rising sea level
Marsh soils as potential sinks for Bacteroides fecal indicator bacteria, Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge, Georgetown, SC, USA
Mangrove expansion and saltmarsh decline at mangrove poleward limits
Final Project Memorandum: Ecological implications of mangrove forest migration in the southeastern U.S.
Leaf gas exchange and nutrient use efficiency help explain the distribution of two Neotropical mangroves under contrasting flooding and salinity
A long-term comparison of carbon sequestration rates in impounded and naturally tidal freshwater marshes along the lower Waccamaw River, South Carolina
Do hummocks provide a physiological advantage to even the most flood tolerant of tidal freshwater trees?
The effect of increasing salinity and forest mortality on soil nitrogen and phosphorus mineralization in tidal freshwater forested wetlands
Periodicity in stem growth and litterfall in tidal freshwater forested wetlands: influence of salinity and drought on nitrogen recycling
A global standard for monitoring coastal wetland vulnerability to accelerated sea-level rise
On the halophytic nature of mangroves
Ecosystem development after mangrove wetland creation: plant-soil change across a 20-year chronosequence
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
How mangrove forests adjust to rising sea level
Marsh soils as potential sinks for Bacteroides fecal indicator bacteria, Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge, Georgetown, SC, USA
Mangrove expansion and saltmarsh decline at mangrove poleward limits
Final Project Memorandum: Ecological implications of mangrove forest migration in the southeastern U.S.
Leaf gas exchange and nutrient use efficiency help explain the distribution of two Neotropical mangroves under contrasting flooding and salinity
A long-term comparison of carbon sequestration rates in impounded and naturally tidal freshwater marshes along the lower Waccamaw River, South Carolina
Do hummocks provide a physiological advantage to even the most flood tolerant of tidal freshwater trees?
The effect of increasing salinity and forest mortality on soil nitrogen and phosphorus mineralization in tidal freshwater forested wetlands
Periodicity in stem growth and litterfall in tidal freshwater forested wetlands: influence of salinity and drought on nitrogen recycling
A global standard for monitoring coastal wetland vulnerability to accelerated sea-level rise
On the halophytic nature of mangroves
Ecosystem development after mangrove wetland creation: plant-soil change across a 20-year chronosequence
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.