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Lydia Vaughn
Senior Scientist
Resilient Landscapes Program
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Areas of Expertise

Resilient Landscapes Program
Delta Landscapes
Ecosystem Carbon
Baylands & Shoreline Resilience

Education & Credentials

MS
PhD

Contact Info

[email protected]
phone
5107467367

Background

Lydia Smith Vaughn is a senior scientist in the Resilient Landscapes program at SFEI. With over 15 years of experience in ecosystem science, she co-leads SFEI's Delta Landscapes and Ecosystem Carbon teams. At SFEI, Lydia brings expertise in carbon cycling and greenhouse gas quantification to projects supporting ecosystem restoration, shoreline resilience, watershed management, wetland mapping and monitoring, and multi-benefit landscape planning. She received her BA from Dartmouth College and her MS and PhD from UC Berkeley's Energy and Resources Group.

Highlighted Work at SFEI

PUBLICATIONS

PROJECTS

NEWS & EVENTS

 

Publications

 

Sevier, E; Peterson, D; Stark, K; Whipple, A; Vaughn, LS; Pentico, R; Stella, J. 2025. Future Climate Impacts to Riparian Condition & Functions in the Petaluma River Watershed. SFEI Contribution No. 1235. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
Vaughn, LS; Casendino, H; Baumgarten, SA; Harris, K; Symonds, J; Sim, L; Pang, S; Walker, D. 2024. A Marsh Transformed: Historical Ecology and Landscape Change in Suisun Marsh. SFEI Contribution No. 1227.
Vaughn, LS; Deverel, SJ; Panlasigui, S; Drexler, JZ; Olds, MA; Diaz, JT; Harris, K; Morris, J; Grenier, L; Robinson, A; Ball, D. 2024. Managed wetlands for climate action: potential greenhouse gas and subsidence mitigation in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. San Francisco Estuary & Watershed Science, 22.
Peterson, D; Baumgarten, SA; Stark, K; Vaughn, LS; Dusterhoff, SD. 2024. Petaluma River Watershed Contemporary Riparian Condition Assessment. SFEI Contribution No. 1160. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
Pearce, SA; Lowe, S; Gilbreath, A; Kauhanen, P; Vaughn, LS; Symonds, J; McKee, LJ. 2023. McCosker Creek Restoration and Public Access Project: Alder Creek Daylighting Additional Monitoring Elements - Final Report. SFEI Contribution No. 1157. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
Braud, A; Vaughn, LS; Murray, R; Palermo, K. 2023. Adding Salinity Modifiers to CARI - Methods Brief. San Francisco Estuary Institute.
Vaughn, LS; Baumgarten, SA; Casendino, H; Ndayishimiye, E; Benjamin, M; Walker, D; Kieschnick, C; Peterson, D; Desanker, G; Grenier, L; Symonds, J. 2023. Managing Open Space in Support of Net Zero: Carbon sequestration opportunities and tradeoffs in the Alameda Watershed. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA. p. 120.
Morris, J; Drexler, JZ; Vaughn, LS; Robinson, A. 2022. An assessment of future tidal marsh resilience in the San Francisco Estuary through modeling and quantifiable metrics of sustainability. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 10.
Vaughn, LS; Plane, E; Harris, K; Robinson, A; Grenier, L. 2022. Leveraging Wetlands for a Better Climate Future: Incorporating Blue Carbon into California’s Climate Planning. SFEI Contribution No. 1084. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA. p. 31.
Vaughn, LS; Panlasigui, S; Deverel, SJ; Drexler, JZ; Olds, MA; Diaz, JT; Harris, K; Morris, J; Grenier, L; Robinson, A; Ball, D. 2022. Delta Wetland Futures: Blue Carbon and Elevation Change. SFEI Contribution No. 1105.
Robinson, A; Harris, K; Morris, J; Drexler, JZ; Vaughn, LS; Safran, SM; Panlasigui, S; Grenier, L; Ball, D. 2022. Delta Wetland Futures: Tidal Marsh Resilience to Sea Level Rise. SFEI Contribution No. 1106.
Cloern, JE et al. 2021. On the human appropriation of wetland primary production. Science of the Total Environment, 785.
Baumgarten, SA; Hagerty, S; Vaughn, LS; Spotswood, E; Grossinger, RM; Beller, EE; Salomon, M; Clark, E; Stoneburner, L. 2021. Peninsula Watershed Historical Ecology Study. SFEI Contribution No. 1029. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, Ca.
Vaughn, LS; Panlasigui, S; Spotswood, E. 2020. Livestock grazing and its effects on ecosystem structure, processes, and conservation. SFEI Contribution No. 1011. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
Vaughn, LS et al. 2020. Delta Landscapes Primary Production: Past, Present, Future. SFEI Contribution No. 988.