Coastal protection and conservation on sandy beaches and dunes: context‐dependent tradeoffs in ecosystem service supply

Abstract

Abstract. Managing multiple ecosystem services (ESs) across landscapes presents a central challenge for ecosystem-based management, because services often exhibit spatiotemporal variation and weak associations with co-occurring ESs. Further focus on the mechanistic relationships among ESs and their underlying biophysical processes provides greater insight into the causes of variation and covariation among ESs, thus serving as a guide to enhance their supply while preventing adverse outcomes. Here, we used the U.S. Pacific Northwest coastal dune ecosystem to examine how invasive beachgrass management affects three ESs: coastal protection, western snowy plover conservation, and endemic foredune plant conservation. At seven coastal dune habitat restoration areas, we observed spatial variation in the supply of each ES and further identified a tradeoff between western snowy plover conservation and coastal protection. While the ESs were collectively influenced by the invasive beachgrasses and the foredunes they create, the magnitude of the synergies and tradeoffs were influenced by numerous non-shared drivers, including nearshore geomorphology, changes in foredune shape as a result of restoration, and other management actions irrespective of restoration. Incorporation of these shared and non-shared drivers into future coastal management planning may reduce tradeoffs among Pacific Northwest dune ESs. With better understanding of ES relationships, it becomes possible to identify management actions that may enhance synergies and mitigate tradeoffs, leading to better decisions for nature and people.

Elucidating Coastal Foredune Ecomorphodynamics in the U.S. Pacific Northwest via Bayesian Networks

“…Among these 20 sites, we established 233 shore‐normal transects at 80 transect locations (3 transects per location and 2–10 transect locations per site; see Figure b and Table S1) and conducted topographic surveys to determine the elevation between the waterline and foredune heel ( d h ) using network real time kinematic differential GPS (Figure c; see methods in Biel et al, ; Ruggiero et al, ). Using methods by Mull and Ruggiero (), we then identified the position of the shoreline (defined as mean high water [MHW]) and the position and elevation of several metrics of foredune morphology (foredune defined as the seaward‐most shore‐parallel sand ridge, whose landward extent is delimited by a 0.6 m or greater elevation drop relative to the maximum elevation of the foredune, Cooper, ; Mull & Ruggiero, ).…”

“…We also characterized dune vegetation density by conducting georeferenced vegetation surveys along each of the 233 transects in 2012. Along each transect, we measured the abundance of all plant species within 0.25‐m 2 quadrats at 5‐m intervals as described in Hacker et al () and Biel et al () and calculated mean beachgrass density (beachgrass tillers per m 2 ) per transect for both Ammophila species along the foredune face (between the 4 m contour and d c ). Finally, in 2014, we resurveyed topography and vegetation along 70 of the transects that were surveyed in 2012 (Table S1) and determined the changes in beachgrass density and elevation for each georeferenced quadrat location between 2012 and 2014.…”

Spatial Variability of Coastal Foredune Evolution, Part A: Timescales of Months to Years

“…As a result, dunes are increasingly used as a form of nature-based infrastructure in many managed coastal systems (e.g., [5][6][7][8]). Understanding the hydrodynamic, aeolian, and ecological processes which contribute to accretional and erosional dune dynamics on management and engineering timescales (days to years) is therefore critical because of the numerous services that dunes provide (e.g., [9]).…”

Assessments of Sand Dune Ecosystem Service Potential from Son Tra (Da Nang) to Tam Ky (Quang Nam)

“…Phân loại đụn cát thường dựa trên sự khác biệt về đặc điểm môi trường, màu cát, tuổi địa chất và độ che phủ của đất [8,9] Các đụn cát phôi thai và đụn cát tiền tiêu được phân bố không đồng nhất dọc theo các bãi biển. Trong khi các đụn cát phôi thai thường được hình thành và phá hủy hàng năm do ảnh hưởng của sóng và gió thì các đụn cát tiền tiêu đã được liên kết với nhau, kéo dài liên tục từ vài trăm đến vài nghìn mét dọc theo bờ biển, có thể gọi chúng là các "đê cát thiên nhiên".…”