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. Geological Survey (USGS) as a part of the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) monitoring program. These surveys provide important data that have been utilized by federal, state, and local resource managers. The surveys provide information on the condition of Louisiana’s coastal marshes by mapping plant species composition and vegetation change through time. During the summer of 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey, Louisiana State University, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries jointly completed an aerial survey to collect data on 2021 vegetation types in coastal Louisiana in the same manner as the 2013 survey. Plant species were identified and their abundance classified. Based on species composition and abundance, each marsh sampling station was assigned a marsh type: fresh, intermediate, brackish, or saline marsh. The current map presents the data collected in this effort.