Ep. 538 - Coastal Wetlands, Rising Seas, & Ghost Forests

In Defense of Plants Podcast

In Defense of Plants

Science & Medicine, Natural Sciences

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 10 August 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Coastal wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems on our planet. They are a boon for plants, animals, and people alike. However, sea level rise is changing these ecosystems and the communities that rely on them. Join me and Dr. Keryn Gedan as we explore the links between sea level rise, wetland migration, and ghost forests and learn how communities are bracing themselves for adapting to these changes. This episode was produced in part by Nadia, Heidi, Blake, Josh, Laure, R.J., Carly, Lucia, Dana, Sarah, Lauren, Strych Mind, Linda, Sylvan, Austin, Sarah, Ethan, Elle, Steve, Cassie, Chuck, Aaron, Gillian, Abi, Rich, Shad, Maddie, Owen, Linda, Alana, Sigma, Max, Richard, Maia, Rens, David, Robert, Thomas, Valerie, Joan, Mohsin Kazmi Photography, Cathy, Simon, Nick, Paul, Charis, EJ, Laura, Sung, NOK, Stephen, Heidi, Kristin, Luke, Sea, Shannon, Thomas, Will, Jamie, Waverly, Brent, Tanner, Rick, Kazys, Dorothy, Katherine, Emily, Theo, Nichole, Paul, Karen, Randi, Caelan, Tom, Don, Susan, Corbin, Keena, Robin, Peter, Whitney, Kenned, Margaret, Daniel, Karen, David, Earl, Jocelyn, Gary, Krysta, Elizabeth, Southern California Carnivorous Plant Enthusiasts, Pattypollinators, Peter, Judson, Ella, Alex, Dan, Pamela, Peter, Andrea, Nathan, Karyn, Michelle, Jillian, Chellie, Linda, Laura, Miz Holly, Christie, Carlos, Paleo Fern, Levi, Sylvia, Lanny, Ben, Lily, Craig, Sarah, Lor, Monika, Brandon, Jeremy, Suzanne, Kristina, Christine, Silas, Michael, Aristia, Felicidad, Lauren, Danielle, Allie, Jeffrey, Amanda, Tommy, Marcel, C Leigh, Karma, Shelby, Christopher, Alvin, Arek, Chellie, Dani, Paul, Dani, Tara, Elly, Colleen, Natalie, Nathan, Ario, Laura, Cari, Margaret, Mary, Connor, Nathan, Jan, Jerome, Brian, Azomonas, Ellie, University Greens, Joseph, Melody, Patricia, Matthew, Garrett, John, Ashley, Cathrine, Melvin, OrangeJulian, Porter, Jules, Griff, Joan, Megan, Marabeth, Les, Ali, Southside Plants, Keiko, Robert, Bryce, Wilma, Amanda, Helen, Mikey, Michelle, German, Joerg, Cathy, Tate, Steve, Kae, Carole, Mr. Keith Santner, Lynn, Aaron, Sara, Kenned, Brett, Jocelyn, Ethan, Sheryl, Runaway Goldfish, Ryan, Chris, Alana, Rachel, Joanna, Lori, Paul, Griff, Matthew, Bobby, Vaibhav, Steven, Joseph, Brandon, Liam, Hall, Jared, Brandon, Christina, Carly, Kazys, Stephen, Katherine, Manny, doeg, Daniel, Tim, Philip, Tim, Lisa, Brodie, Bendix, Irene, holly, Sara, and Margie.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Conversations like you're about to hear do not happen unless you support In Defensive Plants.
0:04.0	And now more than ever, we need conversations like this to reach as many ears as possible.
0:09.0	One of the best ways to help keep In Defensive Plants up and running is to become a patron over at patreon.com slash In Defensive Plants.
0:16.0	In return for a tiny bit of support each month, you will get access to a completely separate podcasts.
0:21.0	It explores a lot of really fun gardening topics, everything from seed collection and storage
0:25.2	to growing native plants, the struggles of trying to garden in different climates, and so much
0:30.2	more. It's a heck of a lot of fun. We're learning so much, and we're trying to share that with you.
0:34.5	So come on and join the Patreon over at patreon.com slash indefensive plants and help keep this show up and running in the process. I hope to see you over there. But in the meantime, on with the show. Hello everyone and welcome to the Indefensive Plants podcast, the official podcast of Indefensiveplants.com. What's up? This is your host, Matt. Welcome to the show. How is everyone doing this week?
0:59.8	Sea level rise, coastal marshes, and ghost forests. All of those are fascinating subjects in and of themselves, but the dynamic way that these worlds combine is exactly what we're talking about today.
1:05.0	Joining us is Dr. Karen Gadan, who spends her research career trying to understand how sea level
1:09.4	rise is changing coastal wetlands
1:11.1	and the forest adjacent to them. This work not only affects biodiversity, it affects things like
1:16.1	carbon sequestration, and the livelihoods of the communities that rely on these ecosystems as well.
1:20.9	This is a really important conversation, and I don't want to take time from it any longer,
1:24.7	so let's just jump right into it. Without further ado, here's my conversation with Dr. Karen Gadan. I hope you enjoy.
1:43.4	All right, Dr. Karen Gdan, welcome to the podcast.
1:46.0	I can't wait to talk to you about your research today.
1:48.7	But first, let's start off with an introduction.
1:50.5	Tell everyone a little bit about who you are and what it is you do.
1:54.0	Sure.
1:54.6	My name is Karen Gadan.
1:55.8	I'm a professor at George Washington University in the Department of Biological Sciences.
	...

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