Semester of Graduation

Summer 2026

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Environmental Sciences

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Watershed ecosystem services (ES) are critical for sediment retention and improved water quality. However, changes in landscape configuration—through land-use conversion or fragmentation—can either enhance or disrupt functions such as sediment retention, increasing exports to rivers and ultimately to coastal waters. To estimate the value of these services, ecosystem service modeling, such as Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST), allows policymakers to understand and identify the supply of ES functions and their value for human systems. The InVEST Sediment Delivery Ratio (InVEST-SDR) Model was used to conduct calibration and validation analyses on reference sites by testing parameter ranges and using Monte Carlo Simulation to evaluate model prediction sensitivity and performance variability. Improved ES model performance identifies shifts in areas that contribute to high sediment exports and in areas with high retention capacity over time. The results showed increasing model performance, consistency in threshold flow accumulation (TFA) and Borselli K (Kb) parameters, but differences in C management factors, such as urban and agriculture land uses. These parameters showed high sensitivity to land-use & land-cover (LULC) changes, suggesting that this framework can identify the best period-specific combinations to reduce prediction error and improve ES model accuracy. This framework allows policymakers to identify areas contributing to sediment export and retention for proper implementation and sustainable management of sediment retention services.

Date

7-16-2026

Committee Chair

Dr. Thomas Douthat

LSU Acknowledgement

1

LSU Accessibility Acknowledgment

1

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Available for download on Friday, July 16, 2027

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