About

Anna E. Braswell is an Assistant Professor of Coastal Ecosystems and Watersheds at the SFRC, IFAS, University of Florida. Her research focuses on understanding the complex interactions between coastal ecosystems, water resources, and human activities, with a particular emphasis on the impacts of climate change and sea-level rise on coastal communities and ecosystems.

Research topics

• Geography
• Ecology
• Meteorology
• Environmental resource management
• Geology
• Environmental protection
• Economics
• Physical geography
• Business
• Biology
• Archaeology
• Demography
• Environmental planning
• Economic geography
• Environmental science
• Economic growth

Selected publications

• Risky Development: Increasing Exposure to Natural Hazards in the United States

  Earth s Future · 119 citations

  • Geography
  • Environmental science
  • Environmental resource management

  Losses from natural hazards are escalating dramatically, with more properties and critical infrastructure affected each year. Although the magnitude, intensity, and/or frequency of certain hazards has increased, development contributes to this unsustainable trend, as disasters emerge when natural disturbances meet vulnerable assets and populations. To diagnose development patterns leading to increased exposure in the conterminous United States (CONUS), we identified earthquake, flood, hurricane, tornado, and wildfire hazard hotspots, and overlaid them with land use information from the Historical Settlement Data Compilation data set. Our results show that 57% of structures (homes,

  DOI

• Data accompanying "Fertilizer enhances production more than mussels in a deteriorating salt marsh"

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-03-10

  datasetOpen accessSenior author

  These data accompany the publication of the same name. We performed a two-year manipulative field study in a deteriorating Florida salt marsh dominated by smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). We examined the interactive effects of ribbed mussel (Geukensia demissa) presence and fertilizer addition on cordgrass production, resistance of cordgrass stems to uprooting, cordgrass regrowth, the abundance of resident fauna, and porewater, leaf tissue, and soil nutrient concentrations. Data used in the manuscript are organized in seven Excel files: 1) cordgrass aboveground biomass, belowground production, and stem density data; 2) cordgrass regrowth data; 3) faunal data; 4) mussel data; 5) nutrient indicator data; 6) cordgrass stem height data; and 7) cordgrass uprooting resistance data. Information describing each dataset can be found in the “Metadata” sheet within each Excel file. This research was funded by the University of Florida Water Institute and the University of Florida School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences.

  PublisherDOI

• Data accompanying "Fertilizer enhances production more than mussels in a deteriorating salt marsh"

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-03-10

  datasetOpen accessSenior author

  These data accompany the publication of the same name. We performed a two-year manipulative field study in a deteriorating Florida salt marsh dominated by smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). We examined the interactive effects of ribbed mussel (Geukensia demissa) presence and fertilizer addition on cordgrass production, resistance of cordgrass stems to uprooting, cordgrass regrowth, the abundance of resident fauna, and porewater, leaf tissue, and soil nutrient concentrations. Data used in the manuscript are organized in seven Excel files: 1) cordgrass aboveground biomass, belowground production, and stem density data; 2) cordgrass regrowth data; 3) faunal data; 4) mussel data; 5) nutrient indicator data; 6) cordgrass stem height data; and 7) cordgrass uprooting resistance data. Information describing each dataset can be found in the “Metadata” sheet within each Excel file. This research was funded by the University of Florida Water Institute and the University of Florida School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences.

  PublisherDOI

• Factors Driving Mangrove Range Expansion

  EDIS · 2026-01-05

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Florida is home to multiple mangrove species, including black mangroves, white mangroves, and red mangroves. Black and red mangroves have expanded their range along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts in Florida as winter temperatures have increased and sea levels have risen, increasing their abundance and even converting salt marshes into mangrove forests. There are several factors that dictate mangrove migration on Florida’s coastlines. This publication is intended to educate the public and land managers about the factors driving mangrove range expansion. Though all the mangrove species listed above have been expanding their northern range limit, for the purposes of this publication, we will focus on the range expansion of black mangroves, which are more prevalent than other mangrove species.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Factors Driving Mangrove Range Expansion

  DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Florida is home to multiple mangrove species, including black mangroves, white mangroves, and red mangroves. Black and red mangroves have expanded their range along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts in Florida as winter temperatures have increased and sea levels have risen, increasing their abundance and even converting salt marshes into mangrove forests. There are several factors that dictate mangrove migration on Florida’s coastlines. This publication is intended to educate the public and land managers about the factors driving mangrove range expansion. Though all the mangrove species listed above have been expanding their northern range limit, for the purposes of this publication, we will focus on the range expansion of black mangroves, which are more prevalent than other mangrove species. Accessibility Summary: In accordance with Title II regulations this content meets all points of exemption as Archived web content and/or Preexisting conventional electronic documents.

  Publisher

• Coastal Freshwater Salinization: Review of Monitoring Efforts Across U.S. Agencies

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-03-11

  reportOpen access

  Many coastal freshwater systems are experiencing rapid salinization associated with climate change, increased water use, and water diversions. This salinization puts the sustainability of coastal ecosystems, freshwater resources, and nearshore communities at risk. To better adapt to and mitigate these salinization risks, well-coordinated coastal monitoring is needed to evaluate the migration of the saltwater front in both surface water and groundwater systems. However, due to the various mechanisms and patterns by which saltwater may intrude, there is a lack of a cohesive framework for monitoring. To support data-driven water-resources planning, encourage information sharing, and help identify data gaps, this review highlights some of the existing efforts across U.S.-based agencies and presents an inventory of case studies, datasets, data portals, and models related to coastal salinization. Further, we provide recommendations for future work to better equip coastal communities with tools for resiliency planning and responding to climate change.

  PublisherDOI

• Coastal Freshwater Salinization: Review of Monitoring Efforts Across U.S. Agencies

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-03-11

  reportOpen access

  Many coastal freshwater systems are experiencing rapid salinization associated with climate change, increased water use, and water diversions. This salinization puts the sustainability of coastal ecosystems, freshwater resources, and nearshore communities at risk. To better adapt to and mitigate these salinization risks, well-coordinated coastal monitoring is needed to evaluate the migration of the saltwater front in both surface water and groundwater systems. However, due to the various mechanisms and patterns by which saltwater may intrude, there is a lack of a cohesive framework for monitoring. To support data-driven water-resources planning, encourage information sharing, and help identify data gaps, this review highlights some of the existing efforts across U.S.-based agencies and presents an inventory of case studies, datasets, data portals, and models related to coastal salinization. Further, we provide recommendations for future work to better equip coastal communities with tools for resiliency planning and responding to climate change.

  PublisherDOI

• Flood risk and the built environment: big property data for environmental justice and social vulnerability analysis

  Population and Environment · 2025-02-26 · 6 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Responses of soil health to seasonal change under different land cover types in a sub-tropical preserve ecosystem

  PLoS ONE · 2025-03-25 · 8 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  In subtropical preserve ecosystems, natural factors combined with anthropogenic activities have led to significant seasonal changes, including distinct dry and rainy seasons. These changes can potentially impact soil health indicators, which are keystone properties that control ecosystem services across terrestrial landscapes. Few studies have evaluated the impact of seasonal changes on soil health within non-agronomic landscapes, such as preserves. As part of this study, we collected topsoil samples (0-15 cm) from twenty-three land cover types within a 109 km² preserve in central Florida during two different seasons (dry and wet) to advance the understanding of how soil health responds to seasonal changes and to explore the environmental factors controlling soil health within non-agronomic landscapes. Ten soil indicators were analyzed and incorporated into the total dataset (TDS). From the TDS, a minimum dataset was derived using Principal Component Analysis, which was then used to calculate the Soil Health Index (SHI) for soil health assessment. Our findings showed that changes in soil indicators, their relationships, and the SHI across seasons depend on land cover type. Based on soil health classification grades, soil health status either improved, declined, or remained constant between seasons, depending on land cover type. The regression analysis of eight selected environmental factors, such as soil profile moisture (SPM), surface soil wetness (SSW), precipitation (P), soil temperature (T), elevation (El), slope gradient (S), global horizontal irradiance (GHI) and surface albedo (ALB), showed that only slope gradient significantly explains variations in SHI during wet season, whereas other environmental factors do not show significant explanatory power for SHI variations in either dry or wet season. These findings highlight the dominant influence of slope gradient on soil health within non-agronomic landscapes, while indicating that other evaluated environmental factors may have limited relevance in this context. Furthermore, the non-significant findings among soil indicators across seasons may be attributed to the study's small sample size (i.e., three replications), a limitation stemming from constrained funding. This highlights the importance of future research incorporating larger sample size to validate the findings of this study.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The role of source water chemistry on microbial nitrogen processing in near-surface sediments in coastal salt marsh sediment

  2025-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• CoPe EAGER: Collaborative Research: COMET: the Coastlines and people Open data and MachinE learning sprinT

  NSF · $63k · 2020–2023

Frequent coauthors

• Stefan Leyk

  University of Colorado Boulder

  29 shared

• Erin Seybold

  University of Kansas

  28 shared

• Johannes Uhl

  20 shared

• Jennifer K. Balch

  Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

  18 shared

• Margaret Zimmer

  University of California, Santa Cruz

  17 shared

• Emilio Grande

  15 shared

• Dylan S. Connor

  Arizona State University

  15 shared

• Maxwell B. Joseph

  University of Colorado Boulder

  15 shared

Labs

• Braswell LabPI

  Interdisciplinary research on sea level rise, coastal flooding, resilience in rural communities, and ecosystem service benefits of living shorelines along Florida's Gulf Coast.

Education

• Ph.D., River Center, Nic. School of the Environ.

  Duke University

• Other, Cherry lab

  University of Alabama

• Other

  Earth Lab, CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder

Awards & honors

• NSF Coastlines and People EAGER grant
• NSF Humans, Disasters and the Built Environment grant
• CA Sea Grant to investigate groundwater agricultural polluti…
• Zimmer, Braswell and Seybold Awarded CA Sea Grant
• Dean's Award for Outstanding PhD Student Paper