Daniel Friess
Cochran Family Professor
Education & Affiliations
Biography
Dr. Friess is a multidisciplinary climate scientist, interested in the relationships between climate, wetlands and communities. In particular his research group uses the lens of blue carbon to understand (1) carbon cycling and other ecosystem services; (2) how blue carbon ecosystems respond to climate change stressors such as sea-level rise; (3) how blue carbon ecosystems respond to deforestation; and (4) how we can use blue carbon to promote mangrove conservation and restoration, whether through national greenhouse gas inventories or carbon credit projects. His work is often conducted in collaboration with governments, NGOs and the corporate sector.
Dr. Freiss is the Co-Editor in Chief of WIREs Climate Change, and a member of the international Blue Carbon Initiative Scientific Working Group, the IUCN Mangrove Specialist Group and the Global Mangrove Alliance. Prior to joining Tulane, Dan was based at the National University of Singapore (2009-2022). For more information please visit https://www.themangrovelab.com/.
Courses
EENS3660 Nature-based Solutions
EENS1300 Earth as a Living Planet
Research
Research Areas
Mangroves, Coastal Wetlands, Blue Carbon, Carbon Credits, Ecosystem Restoration
Brief Overview
The Mangrove Lab, led by Dr. Daniel Friess, conducts interdisciplinary research on the ecological and climate benefits of coastal wetlands—especially mangrove forests. We examine the threats posed by land-use change and climate change, and explore strategies to incentivize conservation. Our work emphasizes blue carbon and the role of mangroves in climate mitigation, partnering globally with nonprofits, governments, and the private sector to deliver applied solutions.
Contributions
Selected Publications
For a full list visit www.themangrovelab.com/publications
Zhang, Luo, Friess, Li. 2025. Global mangrove growth variability driven by climatic oscillation-induced sea-level fluctuations. Nature Geoscience 18, 488-494.
Krause, Cameron, Arias-Ortiz, Cifuentes Jara, Crooks, Dahl, Friess, Kennedy, Lim, Lovelock, Marbà, McGlathery, Oreska, Pidgeon, Serrano, Vanderklift, Wong, Yaakub, Fourqurean. 2025. Global seagrass carbon stock variability and emissions from at-risk seagrass loss. Nature Communications 16, 3798.
Sasmito, Taillardat, Adinugroho, Krisnawati, Novita, Fatoyinbo, Friess, Page, Lovelock, Murdiyarso, Taylor, Lupascu. 2025. Half of land use carbon emissions in Southeast Asia can be mitigated through peat swamp forest and mangrove conservation and restoration. Nature Communications 16, 740.
Maxwell, Spalding, Friess, Murray, Rogers, Rovai, Smart, Weilguny, Adame, Adams, Copertino, Cott, de Paula Costa, Holmquist, Ladd, Lovelock, Ludwig, Mortisch, Navarro, Raw, Ruiz-Fernández, Serrano, Smeaton, Van de Broek, Windham-Myers, Landis, Worthington. 2024. Soil carbon in the world’s tidal marshes. Nature Communications 15, 10265.
Zhang, Luo, Friess, Wang, Li. 2024. Stronger increases but greater variability in global mangrove productivity compared to that of adjacent terrestrial forests. Nature Ecology and Evolution 8, 239-250.
Teo, Tan, Sarira, de Alban, Zheng, Rachakonda, Chen, Lim, Zhao, Tang, Friess, Koh. 2023. Uncertainties in deforestation emission baseline methodologies and implications for carbon markets. Nature Communications 14, 8277.
Friess. 2023. The potential of mangrove and seagrass blue carbon for Small Island States. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 64, 101324.
Friess, Gatt, Fung, Alemu, Bhatia, Case, Chua, Huang, Kwan, Lim, Nathan, Ow, Saavedra-Hortua, Sloey, Yando, Ibrahim, Koh, Puah, Teo, Tun, Wong, Yaakub. 2023. Blue carbon science, management and policy across a tropical urban landscape. Landscape and Urban Planning 230, 104610
