Coastal management

Summary

Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in sea level damage beaches and coastal systems are expected to rise at an increasing rate, causing coastal sediments to be disturbed by tidal energy. Coastal zones occupy less than 15% of the Earth's land area, while they host more than 40% of the world population. Nearly 1.2 billion people live within 100 km of shoreline and 100 m of sea level, with an average density 3 times higher than the global average for population. With three-quarters of the world population expected to reside in the coastal zone by 2025, human activities originating from this small land area will impose heavy pressure on coasts. Coastal zones contain rich resources to produce goods and services and are home to most commercial and industrial activities. History

Official source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_management

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Coastal protection against wind-wave induced erosion using soft and porous structures: A case study at Lake Biel, Switzerland

Selim Sayah

2007

Coastal shoreline forests are vulnerable to seawater exposure, the impacts of which will increase due to sea-level rise, but the long-term adaptation strategies and vulnerability of coastal forests are not well understood. We used whole-tree transpiration, leaf water potential, tree-ring width, and tree-ring δ13C (a proxy for intrinsic water use efficiency, iWUE) to examine the long-term adaptation strategies of red maple (Acer rubrum) trees at the coastal interface (i.e., shoreline) and nearby upland in Maryland, USA. Red maple trees that grew along the shoreline and were exposed to slightly saline water (up to two PSU) had higher transpiration rates than those growing in the nearby upland forest during a wet year, but these differences disappeared during a normal precipitation year. Shoreline trees grew more slowly than upland trees over the last four decades, but these growth differences have disappeared in the last six years. Shoreline and upland red maple trees had similar variation in iWUE, indicating that higher transpiration rates of the seawater-exposed trees did not translate into differences in water use efficiency. There were no differences in predawn and midday water potential between upland and shoreline trees, suggesting no additional water stress occurs in shoreline trees. These findings indicate that mature red maple in our coastal study site maintains gas exchange and growth at a consistent or homeostatic level under slight soil salinity.

2020

High rates of carbon and dinitrogen fixation suggest a critical role of benthic pioneer communities in the energy and nutrient dynamics of coral reefs

Nils Rädecker

Following coral mortality in tropical reefs, pioneer communities dominated by filamentous and crustose algae efficiently colonize substrates previously occupied by coral tissue. This phenomenon is particularly common after mass coral mortality following prolonged bleaching events associated with marine heatwaves. 2. Pioneer communities play an important role for the biological succession and reorganization of reefs after disturbance. However, their significance for critical ecosystem functions previously mediated by corals, such as the efficient cycling of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) within the reef, remains uncertain. 3. We used 96 carbonate tiles to simulate the occurrence of bare substrates after disturbance in a coral reef of the central Red Sea. We measured rates of C and dinitrogen (N2) fixation of pioneer communities on these tiles monthly over an entire year. Coupled with elemental and stable isotope analyses, these measurements provide insights into macronutrient acquisition, export and the influence of seasonality. 4. Pioneer communities exhibited high rates of C and N2 fixation within 4–8 weeks after the introduction of experimental bare substrates. Ranging from 13 to 25 μmol C cm−2 day−1 and 8 to 54 nmol N cm−2 day−1, respectively, C and N2 fixation rates were comparable to reported values for established Red Sea coral reefs. This similarity indicates that pioneer communities may quickly compensate for the loss of benthic productivity by corals. Notably, between 40% and 85% of fixed organic C was exported into the environment, constituting a vital source of energy for the coral reef food web. 5. Our findings suggest that benthic pioneer communities may play a crucial, yet overlooked role in the C and N dynamics of oligotrophic coral reefs by contributing to the input of new C and N after coral mortality. While not substituting other critical ecosystem functions provided by corals (e.g. structural habitat complexity and coastal protection), pioneer communities likely contribute to maintaining coral reef nutrient cycling through the accumulation of biomass and import of macronutrients following coral loss.

2020

High rates of carbon and dinitrogen fixation suggest a critical role of benthic pioneer communities in the energy and nutrient dynamics of coral reefs

Nils Rädecker

Following coral mortality in tropical reefs, pioneer communities dominated by filamentous and crustose algae efficiently colonize substrates previously occupied by coral tissue. This phenomenon is particularly common after mass coral mortality following prolonged bleaching events associated with marine heatwaves. 2. Pioneer communities play an important role for the biological succession and reorganization of reefs after disturbance. However, their significance for critical ecosystem functions previously mediated by corals, such as the efficient cycling of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) within the reef, remains uncertain. 3. We used 96 carbonate tiles to simulate the occurrence of bare substrates after disturbance in a coral reef of the central Red Sea. We measured rates of C and dinitrogen (N2) fixation of pioneer communities on these tiles monthly over an entire year. Coupled with elemental and stable isotope analyses, these measurements provide insights into macronutrient acquisition, export and the influence of seasonality. 4. Pioneer communities exhibited high rates of C and N2 fixation within 4–8 weeks after the introduction of experimental bare substrates. Ranging from 13 to 25 μmol C cm−2 day−1 and 8 to 54 nmol N cm−2 day−1, respectively, C and N2 fixation rates were comparable to reported values for established Red Sea coral reefs. This similarity indicates that pioneer communities may quickly compensate for the loss of benthic productivity by corals. Notably, between 40% and 85% of fixed organic C was exported into the environment, constituting a vital source of energy for the coral reef food web. 5. Our findings suggest that benthic pioneer communities may play a crucial, yet overlooked role in the C and N dynamics of oligotrophic coral reefs by contributing to the input of new C and N after coral mortality. While not substituting other critical ecosystem functions provided by corals (e.g. structural habitat complexity and coastal protection), pioneer communities likely contribute to maintaining coral reef nutrient cycling through the accumulation of biomass and import of macronutrients following coral loss.

2020