Black 

 Lake

Calcasieu

 Lake Grand Lake

Hackberry

Cameron Grand Chenier

Intracoastal

 City

White Lake

Vermilion Bay West Cote

Blanche Bay

 East Cote

Blanche Bay

Marsh

Island

Terrebonne Bay

Caillou Lake

 Lake

Boudreaux

Timbalier Bay

Port Fourchon

 Golden 

Meadow

Houma

Little Lake

Grand Isle

Barataria Bay

Venice

Breton Sound

Lake Salvador

New Orleans

Lake Pontchartrain

Lake Borgne Chandeleur Islands

 Lake

Maurepas

Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

2013 vegetation types

Land types

Water

Swamp

Other—Nonmarsh

Fresh marsh—Typical vegetation is frequently dominated by Panicum 

hemitomon, Sagittaria lancifolia, Eleocharis baldwinii, or Cladium 

jamaicense. Other than these dominant plants, the following species 

primarily occur in fresh marsh: Boehmeria cylindrica, Cephalanthus 

occidentalis, Colocasia esculenta, Decodon verticillatus, Nymphaea 

odorata, Sagittaria latifolia, Sagittaria platyphylla, Schoenoplectus 

deltarum, and Triadenum virginicum.

Intermediate marsh—Typical vegetation is frequently dominated by 

Leptochloa fusca, Panicum virgatum, Paspalum vaginatum, Phragmites 

australis, or Schoenoplectus americanus. Both intermediate and 

brackish marshes can be dominated by Spartina patens, but 

intermediate marshes dominated by Spartina patens have a higher 

species richness often including Sagittaria lancifolia, Schoenoplectus 

americanus, Eleocharis spp., and (or) Cyperus spp.

Brackish marsh—Typical vegetation is often dominated by Spartina 

patens but is occasionally dominated by Spartina cynosuroides, 

Spartina spartinae, or Bolboschoenus robustus. Both intermediate and 

brackish marshes can be dominated by Spartina patens, but brackish 

marshes dominated by Spartina patens typically have a small number 

of other species such as Spartina alterniflora, Distichlis spicata, 

Juncus roemerianus, or Bolboschoenus robustus.

Saline (saltwater) marsh—Typical vegetation is frequently dominated 

by Spartina alterniflora, Distichlis spicata, or Avicennia germinans.

EXPLANATION

Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication 

is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply 

endorsement by the U.S. Government

This map was printed on an electronic plotter directly from 

digital files. Dimensional calibration may vary between 

electronic plotters and between X and Y directions on the 

same plotter, and paper may change size due to 

atmospheric conditions; therefore, scale and proportions 

may not be true on plots of this map.

Sasser, C.E., Visser, J.M., Mouton, Edmond, Linscombe, Jeb, 

and Hartley, S.B., 2014, Vegetation types

in coastal Louisiana in 2013: U.S. Geological Survey 

Scientific Investigations Map 3290, 1 sheet, scale 1:550,000.

Publishing support provided by

Lafayette Publishing Service Center

ISSN 2329-132X

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sim3290

1

Louisiana State University.

2

University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

3

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

4

U.S. Geological Survey.

Vegetation Types in Coastal Louisiana in 2013

By

Charles E. Sasser,1

 Jenneke M. Visser,2 Edmond Mouton,3 Jeb Linscombe,3 and Steve B. Hartley4

2014

0 30 60 120 MILES

0 30 60 120 KILOMETERS

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Scientific Investigations Map 3290

Table 1. Area of polygons as depicted on this map of the

Louisiana coastal zone. 

[Polygons were drawn on the basis of a survey of 8,302 stations and marsh

classification of 4,107 stations]

Acres Hectares

Vegetation type

Fresh marsh 956,617 387,129

Intermediate marsh 940,592 380,644

Brackish marsh 997,437 403,648

Saline (saltwater) marsh 729,942 295,397

Land type

Other—Nonmarsh 1,343,326 543,625

Swamp 464,805 188,100

Water 4,606,864 1,864,332

Total 10,039,583 4,062,875

Abstract

During the summer of 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey, 

Louisiana State University, University of Louisiana at 

Lafayette, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and 

Fisheries Coastal and Nongame Resources Division jointly 

completed an aerial survey to collect data on 2013 

vegetation types in coastal Louisiana. Plant species were 

listed and their abundance classified. On the basis of 

species composition and abundance, each marsh sampling 

station was assigned a marsh type: fresh, intermediate, 

brackish, or saline (saltwater) marsh. The current map 

presents the data collected in this effort.

Methodology

There are numerous datasets available to conduct 

analyses of marsh change in coastal Louisiana. Most prior 

studies have used either National Wetlands Inventory data 

or vegetation type maps produced by O’Neil (1949), 

Chabreck and others (1968), Chabreck and Linscombe 

References

Chabreck, R.H., and Linscombe, G., 1978, Vegetative type map of the 

Louisiana coastal marshes: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Department of Wildlife 

and Fisheries.

Chabreck, R.H., and Linscombe, G., 1988, Vegetative type map of the 

Louisiana coastal marshes: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Department of Wildlife 

and Fisheries, set of 10 maps.

Chabreck, R.H., and Linscombe, G., 1997, Vegetative type map of the 

Louisiana coastal marshes: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Department of Wildlife 

and Fisheries.

Chabreck, R.H., Palmisano, A.W., Jr., and Joanen, T., 1968, Vegetative type 

map of the Louisiana coastal marshes: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Department 

of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Linscombe, G., and Chabreck, R. [n.d.], Task III.8—Coastwide aerial survey, 

brown marsh 2001 assessment—Salt marsh dieback in Louisiana: Brown 

marsh data information management system, accessed June 4, 2006, at 

http://brownmarsh.com/data/III_8.htm.

O’Neil, T., 1949, The muskrat in Louisiana coastal marshes: New Orleans, 

Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, 28 p.

Sasser, C.E., Visser, J.M., Mouton, Edmond, Linscombe, Jeb, and Hartley, 

S.B., 2008, Vegetation types in coastal Louisiana in 2007: U.S. Geological 

Survey Open-File Report 2008–1224, 1 sheet, scale 1:550,000.

Visser, J.M., Sasser, C.E., Chabreck, R.H., and Linscombe, R.G., 1998, Marsh 

vegetation types of the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain: Estuaries, v. 21, p. 

818–828.

Visser, J.M., Sasser, C.E., Chabreck, R.H., and Linscombe, R.G., 2000, Marsh 

vegetation types of the Chenier Plain, Louisiana, USA: Estuaries, v. 23, p. 

318–327.

Visser, J.M., Sasser, C.E., Chabreck, R.H., and Linscombe, R.G., 2002, The 

impact of a severe drought on the vegetation of a subtropical estuary: 

Estuaries, v. 25, p. 1184–1195.

(1978, 1988, 1997), Linscombe and Chabreck (n.d. [2001]), 

and Sasser and others (2008). During the summer of 2013, the 

U.S. Geological Survey, Louisiana State University, University 

of Louisiana at Lafayette, and the Louisiana Department of 

Wildlife and Fisheries Coastal and Nongame Resources 

Division jointly completed an aerial survey to collect data on 

2013 vegetation types in coastal Louisiana (table 1). The 

current map presents the data collected in this effort.

The 2013 aerial survey was conducted from a 206 Bell Jet 

Ranger helicopter by using techniques developed over the last 

30 years while conducting similar vegetation surveys. 

Transects flown were oriented in a north-south direction and 

spaced 1.87 miles (mi) (3 kilometers [km]) apart. Sampling 

sites were located at a spacing of 0.5 mi (0.8 km) along these 

transects. Transects covered coastal marshes from the Texas 

State line to the Mississippi State line and from the northern 

extent of fresh marshes to the southern end of saline (saltwater) 

marshes on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico or of coastal 

bays. Navigation along these transects and to each sampling 

site was accomplished by using Global Positioning 

System (GPS) technology and geographic information 

system (GIS) software operating on a ruggedized laptop, 

a procedure that was established during the 1997 

vegetation survey by Chabreck and Linscombe (1997).

As the surveyors reached each sampling station, plant 

species were listed and their abundance classified. On 

the basis of species composition and abundance, each 

marsh sampling station was assigned a marsh type: 

fresh, intermediate, brackish, or saline (saltwater) marsh 

(Visser and others, 1998, 2000, 2002). The data 

generated from the survey were later delineated by using 

the same base map as that used to map the data collected 

during the 1997 (Chabreck and Linscombe, 1997), 2001 

(Linscombe and Chabreck, n.d.), and 2007 (Sasser and 

others, 2008) surveys. Delineations of marsh boundaries 

usually followed natural levees, bayous, or other features 

that impede or restrict water flow.