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
Elevation change along a coastal wetland landscape gradient from tidal freshwater forested wetland to oligohaline marsh in the Southeastern U.S.A. (2009-2014)
Assessing coastal wetland vulnerability to sea-level rise along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast: gaps and opportunities for developing a coordinated regional sampling network
Linear and nonlinear effects of temperature and precipitation on ecosystem properties in tidal saline wetlands
Organic matter decomposition along coastal wetland landscape gradient from tidal freshwater forested wetland to oligohaline marsh in Southeastern U.S.A. (2010-2011)
Predicting landscape effects of Mississippi River diversions on soil organic carbon sequestration
Plant biomass, carbon content, decomposition, and soil greenhouse gas fluxes to support carbon budget development for a created salt marsh in eastern North Carolina, USA
Surface elevation change (VLMw) and vertical accretion data from created mangroves in Tampa Bay, Florida, USA (2011-2016)
Marshes and mangroves as nature-based coastal storm buffers
Floodplain ecology: A novel wetland community of the Amazon
Coupling near-surface geomorphology with mangrove community diversity at the estuarine scale: A case study at Dongzhaigang Bay, China
A comprehensive assessment of mangrove species and carbon stock on Pohnpei, Micronesia
Constraints on the adjustment of tidal marshes to accelerating sea level rise
Modeling impacts of drought-induced salinity intrusion on carbon dynamics in tidal freshwater forested wetlands
Processes and mechanisms of coastal woody-plant mortality
Presence of the herbaceous marsh species Schoenoplectus americanus enhances surface elevation gain in transitional coastal wetland communities exposed to elevated CO2 and sediment deposition events
Preface to book: Wetland carbon and environmental management
Potential for carbon and nitrogen sequestration by restoring tidal connectivity and enhancing soil surface elevations in denuded and degraded south Florida mangrove ecosystems
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
Elevation change along a coastal wetland landscape gradient from tidal freshwater forested wetland to oligohaline marsh in the Southeastern U.S.A. (2009-2014)
Assessing coastal wetland vulnerability to sea-level rise along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast: gaps and opportunities for developing a coordinated regional sampling network
Linear and nonlinear effects of temperature and precipitation on ecosystem properties in tidal saline wetlands
Organic matter decomposition along coastal wetland landscape gradient from tidal freshwater forested wetland to oligohaline marsh in Southeastern U.S.A. (2010-2011)
Predicting landscape effects of Mississippi River diversions on soil organic carbon sequestration
Plant biomass, carbon content, decomposition, and soil greenhouse gas fluxes to support carbon budget development for a created salt marsh in eastern North Carolina, USA
Surface elevation change (VLMw) and vertical accretion data from created mangroves in Tampa Bay, Florida, USA (2011-2016)
Marshes and mangroves as nature-based coastal storm buffers
Floodplain ecology: A novel wetland community of the Amazon
Coupling near-surface geomorphology with mangrove community diversity at the estuarine scale: A case study at Dongzhaigang Bay, China
A comprehensive assessment of mangrove species and carbon stock on Pohnpei, Micronesia
Constraints on the adjustment of tidal marshes to accelerating sea level rise
Modeling impacts of drought-induced salinity intrusion on carbon dynamics in tidal freshwater forested wetlands
Processes and mechanisms of coastal woody-plant mortality
Presence of the herbaceous marsh species Schoenoplectus americanus enhances surface elevation gain in transitional coastal wetland communities exposed to elevated CO2 and sediment deposition events
Preface to book: Wetland carbon and environmental management
Potential for carbon and nitrogen sequestration by restoring tidal connectivity and enhancing soil surface elevations in denuded and degraded south Florida mangrove ecosystems
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.