Plant roots stabilize soils and take up nutrients to improve water quality. 9 Vegetation helps to dissipate wave energy, stabilize shorelines, and provide fish and wildlife habitat. Native grasses can be planted into the tidal and supratidal substrate along shorelines fronted by beaches and mudflats. Plantings are used along shorelines in low to moderate wave energy environments with gradual slopes, such as salt marshes, beaches, bays, and other areas. Living shorelines use predominantly native vegetation. This living shoreline technique includes new plantings, replantings, and maintaining existing vegetation. Nonstructural living shoreline techniques 11 When planning a living shorelines project, several steps are typically required in the project’s timeframe: site analysis, permit approval and legal compliance, site preparation, installation, monitoring, and maintenance. They should be designed within the context of local site conditions and in consultation with all of the various stakeholders involved. Living shorelines typically work best in areas with relatively lower wave energy. Offshore breakwaters that may be combined with native vegetation 5ĭeciding whether a living shoreline approach is right for a particular site and choosing the most appropriate method to use will depend on many factors, including shoreline location and site characteristics (shoreline slope, water levels, and wave energy). Tidal marsh restoration, enhancement, or creation Living shorelines can be categorized into nonstructural and hybrid shoreline management practices. Supporting eco-tourism through fishing, hunting, and wildlife viewing activities. Reducing repair and maintenance costs after storm events, since natural systems often have some capacity to self-repair following disturbances.Ĭontributing to carbon sequestration and storage ( blue carbon), if the approach is vegetation-based. Providing critical natural storm defenses by helping to dissipate storm surge and waves and reducing damage from floods, which can further increase real estate values for protected properties. Living shorelines further protect coastal ecosystem services, benefiting human communities by:Įnhancing and protecting important commercial fisheries and thus local economies. Improve water quality through water filtration when native plants are used. Support inland habitat migration, helping to minimize or reverse salt marsh habitat loss and degradation. Provide food resources and roost sites for waterbirds. Protect or create habitat for submerged aquatic vegetation, invertebrates, and other estuarine species. Provide continuous habitat (or corridors) between land and water environments for migratory fish and wildlife. Protect, restore, and enhance shorelines, beaches, and habitat in the littoral zone. This natural approach is better than hardened coastal protection measures, 12 because living shorelines provide many ecological benefits and can largely avoid the adverse impacts that may result from the use of hardened infrastructure like seawalls and bulkheads. Living shorelines are the best shoreline management approach to sustain and protect the environment and coastal communities when used in the right locations with proper design, construction, and maintenance.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |