Coastal Wetlands StudiesVanessa Constant
2015 The Garden Club of America Award in Coastal Wetlands Studies
Vanessa Constant, a Ph.D. student at Oregon State University in the Department of Integrative Biology, will explore the relationship between vegetative communities, environmental characteristics, and climate change. She will examine the role of vegetation in mediating sea level rise (SLR) and its ability to protect the Oregon coast and its salt marshes. The entire Pacific Northwest’s coastal salt marshes are essential for coastal protection, dissipating wave energy, stabilizing sediment, and increasing inter-tidal elevation and size. She will study four sites for three complete field seasons, in both southern and northern Oregon. Integrating her study within the community, she will facilitate planting initiatives and conduct programs with a local science center to educate students on the importance and role of salt marshes.
The Garden Club of America Award in Coastal Wetlands Studies
To promote, expand, and enrich the body of research concerning the coast by actively supporting graduate students in the field of coastal wetlands science.
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