Daniel Friess
Assistant Professor, Dept of Geography, NUS
Postdoctoral research fellow, APE Lab, NUS
PhD in Coastal Geomorphology, University of Cambridge
BSc (Hons) 1st class in Environmental Biology, Imperial College London
Research Interests
Coastal wetland vulnerability to sea level rise
I'm involved in a number of studies relating to the ability of mangroves to adapt to rising sea level:
a) The creation of a high-resolution topographic and vegetation map of all trees in the 17ha Mandai
mangroves, Singapore.
b) mm scale measurements of long term surface elevation change using the Surface Elevation Methodology
in Singapore, Thailand and the UK. These SETs are some of the first to be installed in SE Asia
(in conjunction with Ken Krauss, Don Cahoon, Nicole Cormier - US Geological Survey)
Wetland restoration
I'm interested in thresholds to mangrove establishment, especially inundation/elevation. Importantly -
how can we use such information to scientifically-inform and improve the success of mangrove restoration?
I'm also interested in hydrodynamic and geomorphological relationships between newly created sites and
Remote sensing - quantifying regional-scale drivers of mangrove loss using Landsat, especially Malaysia
and Myanmar. I have also used a range of techniques for saltmarsh mapping, including LiDAR, Terrestrial
Laser Scanning, airborne multispectral imagery and aerial photography.
Habitat connectivity - modeling of mangrove propagule dispersal around Singapore and the Thai-Malay
Peninsula (DELFT - 3D).
the surrounding coastal zone.
Uncertainty and environmental policy - causes of uncertainty relating to national-level habitat statistics,
and the use of remote sensing to reduce error.
Supervised classification of mangroves in Langkawi
Mangrove restoration collaborators in Sumatra, Indonesia
Selected Publications
Lacambra, Friess, Spencer & Moller. Forthcoming. Bioshields: mangrove ecosystems as resilient natural coastal
defences. In: Renaud F., Sudmeier-Rieux, K., Estrella, M. (eds). The Role of Ecosystems in Diaster Risk
Reduction: from Science to Practice. UNU Press
Webb, Phelps, Friess, Rao & Ziegler. 2012. Environmentally-friendly reform in Myanmar. Science 336, 295 [letter]
Friess, Krauss, Horstman, Balke, Bouma, Galli & Webb. 2012. Are all intertidal wetlands naturally created equal?
Bottlenecks, thresholds and knowledge gaps to mangrove and saltmarsh ecosystems. Biological Reviews
87, 346-366
Friess, Spencer, Smith, Möller, Brooks & Thomson. 2012. Remote sensing of geomorphological and ecological
change in response to saltmarsh managed realignment, The Wash, UK. International Journal
of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation 18, 57-68
Phelps, Friess & Webb. 2012. Win-win REDD+ approaches belie carbon-biodiversity trade-offs.
Biological Conservation doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2011.12.03
Spencer, Friess, Möller, Brown, Garbutt & French. 2012. Surface elevation change in natural and re-created habitats,
eastern England, UK, with particular reference to Freiston Shore. Wetlands Ecology and Management 20, 9-33
Friess, Kudavidanage & Webb. 2011. The digital globe is our oyster. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
13, 542 [letter]
Friess DA and Webb EL. 2011. Bad data equals bad policy: how to trust rates of ecosystem loss when there is so
much uncertainty? Environmental Conservation 38: 1-5 click here
Friess DA, Spencer T, Möller I, Smith G and Thomson AG. 2008. Geomorphological Impacts of Managed
Realignment on the External Intertidal Zone. Proceedings of Littoral 2008, Venice, Italy
Friess DA, Spencer T and Möller I. 2008. Managed Realignment and the Re-establishment of Saltmarsh Habitat,
Freiston Shore, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. In: ProAct Network. The Role of Environmental Management
and Eco-Engineering in Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation. ProAct Network/United
Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. 124pp
Baxter JM, Buckley PJ and Wallace CJ. (eds). 2008. Marine Climate Change Impacts. Marine Climate Change
Impacts Partnership (contributor)
Friess DA, Spencer T, Smith GM, Moller I and Thomson AG. 2006. Thinking Outside the Box: Visualising the
External Impacts of Managed Realignment. Proceedings of Littoral 2006, Gdansk, Poland. Vol 6: 35-40
Interesting links
Surface Elevation Table network
www.pwrc.usgs.gov/set
Free Landsat imagery
www.landcover.org
Free GIS layers + software
www.diva-gis.org
Mangrove restoration
www.mangroveactionproject.org
Mangrove extent (FAO)
www.fao.org/forestry/mangrove/en
Singapore-Delft Water Alliance
www.sdwa.nus.edu.sg
My PhD research
www.geog.cam.ac.uk/people/friess
Mangroves have decreased from 13% to 0.5% of Singapore's land area
Chatting about mangroves with the Dutch Prime Minister
