Environmental Setting of the Mississippi River Delta

Day, John W.; Hunter, Rachael G.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-94526-8_2

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 164 publications

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“…While Gulf-wide hurricanes outside of Louisiana result in short-term population decline with recovery and rebuilding and the restoration of the population, the indirect effect of hurricanes in association with other factors acting through wetland loss in Louisiana causes permanent declines in population. Moreover, while hurricanes bring sediment and benefits to healthy wetlands, supporting coastal and deltaic land building, the hydrological disruptions caused by the leveeing of the Mississippi River and pervasive hydrologic alterations caused largely by oil and gas industries have reversed this effect [15,17,32].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the 20th century, however, about 25% of coastal wetlands in the Mississippi Delta were lost due primarily to anthropogenic factors, such as levee construction, oil and gas extraction and associated canals and impoundment, hydrological disruption, reduced Mississippi River sediment load, and changes in relative sea-level [12][13][14]. Specifically, Louisiana's coastal parishes have undergone significant environmental changes since the 1930s, primarily due to human interventions impacting the deltaic plain [12,14,15]. The oil and gas industry's direct and indirect impacts have caused significant chemical, biological, and physical damage [15][16][17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifically, Louisiana's coastal parishes have undergone significant environmental changes since the 1930s, primarily due to human interventions impacting the deltaic plain [12,14,15]. The oil and gas industry's direct and indirect impacts have caused significant chemical, biological, and physical damage [15][16][17]. Levees and channelization have resulted in energy and material flow alterations, leading to subsidence [14,15] and pollution-driven toxic stress has resulted in vegetation mortality [15,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The oil and gas industry's direct and indirect impacts have caused significant chemical, biological, and physical damage [15][16][17]. Levees and channelization have resulted in energy and material flow alterations, leading to subsidence [14,15] and pollution-driven toxic stress has resulted in vegetation mortality [15,17]. These factors have contributed to permanent conversion of over 485,622 hectares of wetlands to open water, more than all other U.S. States combined [13,15,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Wetland Loss in Coastal Louisiana Drives Significant Resident Population Declines

Bastien-Olvera

Batker²,

Soares³

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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Despite increased hurricane intensity, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast has experienced dramatic coastal population increase of 24.5% from 2000 to 2016. However, in areas of coastal Louisiana with dramatic wetland loss, parishes have experienced population declines and lower rates of population growth. Therefore, understanding the magnitude of the effect of wetland loss as a main driver of population loss in coastal Louisiana is critical. Using regression analysis, this study finds that wetland loss has a significant and persistent negative effect on population growth in coastal Louisiana. This effect resulted in a reduction in the population growth rate in coastal parishes over time. A counterfactual simulation was conducted to estimate the potential population size in the absence of wetland loss from 1990 to 2021. On average, the effect of 1 hectare of wetland lost causes a reduction of approximately 1000 persons. This indicates that for the year 2021, the population was approximately 18% lower than the population that would have existed in the absence of wetland loss. This research underscores the role of wetlands in providing direct and indirect benefits to people in coastal Louisiana that are ultimately reflected in its population levels.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Wetland Loss in Coastal Louisiana Drives Significant Resident Population Declines

Bastien-Olvera

Batker²,

Soares³

et al. 2023

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Wetland Loss in Coastal Louisiana Drives Significant Resident Population Declines

Bastien-Olvera¹,

Batker²,

Soares³

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite increased hurricane intensity, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast has experienced dramatic coastal population increase of 24.5% from 2000 to 2016. However, in coastal Louisiana areas with dramatic wetland loss, parishes have experienced population declines and lower rates of population growth. Therefore, understanding the magnitude of the effect of wetland loss as a main driver in population loss in coastal Louisiana is critical. Using regression analysis, this study finds that wetland loss has a significant and persistent negative effect on population growth in coastal Louisiana. This effect resulted in a reduction in the population growth rate in coastal parishes over time. A counterfactual simulation was conducted to estimate the potential population size in the absence of wetland loss from 1990 to 2021. On average, the effect of 1 hectare of wetland lost causes a reduction of approximately 1000 persons. This indicates that for the year 2021, the population was approximately 18% lower than the population that would have existed in the absence of wetland loss. This research underscores the role of wetlands in providing direct and indirect benefits to people in coastal Louisiana that are ultimately reflected in its population levels.

show abstract

Environmental Setting of the Mississippi River Delta

Cited by 2 publications

References 164 publications

Wetland Loss in Coastal Louisiana Drives Significant Resident Population Declines

Wetland Loss in Coastal Louisiana Drives Significant Resident Population Declines

Wetland Loss in Coastal Louisiana Drives Significant Resident Population Declines

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