research | lizguinessey

Coastal ecosystems face high loss rates as human development pressures rise worldwide. Studies estimate that 50% of salt marshes, 35% of mangroves and 29% of seagrasses have been lost over the last 50-100 years. My interests lie in exploring the potential for conservation of these coastal habitats through the use of payment for ecosystem service mechanisms and by community-based conservation. My Masters research at the University of Georgia explored the possibility of scaling greenhouse gas fluxes to the landscape level to create carbon budgets the spatial extent required for a payment for carbon services scheme. Currently, I am working in Costa Rica on community-based mangrove reforestation with a local NGO.

Georgia coast, USA Pacific coast, Costa Rica

Watch Jim Toomey's PSA on the importance of coastal habitats in mitigating climate change

Multimedia resources on the importance of coastal conservation

My work on the Georgia coast explored how greenhouse gas flux varies with plant communities in the salt marsh ecosystem in order to scale flux up to the landscape level. The impetus for this work was to fill in knowledge gaps in bringing coastal wetlands to market using blue carbon based climate finance mechanisms. This work was carried out on Jekyll and Sapelo Islands.

As a Fulbright Fellow in Costa Rica I am working with a community based conservation program to reforest mangroves on the Nicoya and Osa Peninsulas. In particular, I am interested in understanding the perceptions of the local community of the program and its outcomes, in order to identify best practices for these types of programs in other areas.

Mangrove Action Project on the importance of mangroves

Research sites