Design, production, and validation of the biological and structural performance of an ecologically engineered concrete block mattress: A Nature‐Inclusive Design for shoreline and offshore construction

Abstract

This article is part of the special series "Incorporating Nature-based Solutions to the Built Environment." The series documents the way in which the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets can be addressed when nature-based solutions (NBS) are incorporated into the built environment. This series presents cutting-edge environmental research and policy solutions that promote sustainability from the perspective of how the science community contributes to SDG implementation through new technologies, assessment and monitoring methods, management best practices, and scientific research.

Transforming Institutions to Connect Land and Water for Healthy Communities

“…2022; Sella et al. 2022). EWN is currently advancing practice for island creation and restoration as an NNBF measure that is enabled by the beneficial use of dredged sediment (Herman et al.…”

“…2022; Sella et al. 2022; Suedel and Oen 2022). The Water Resources Development Act of 2020 directs the USACE to fully evaluate nature‐based projects.…”

“…Projects such as restoration of barrier islands and sand dunes to attenuate storm surges or floodplains along rivers to reduce flood risks protect human communities and restore wildlife habitat. Through demonstrating the benefits, the USACE' EWN initiative has raised the potential of prioritizing nature-based solutions to more fully protect communities (Cohn et al 2022;Geisthardt et al 2022;Sella et al 2022;Suedel and Oen 2022). The Water Resources Development Act of 2020 directs the USACE to fully evaluate nature-based projects.…”

“…Examples of EWN supporting NNBF implementation include innovative dredging technologies and practices that can be used to sustain NNBFs, and the development of methods for quantifying the ecosystem services and engineering and flood risk reduction benefits provided by restored islands (Herman et al 2020;Polk et al 2022;Sella et al 2022). EWN is currently advancing practice for island creation and restoration as an NNBF measure that is enabled by the beneficial use of dredged sediment (Herman et al 2020;Davis et al 2022; Box 2).…”

Physical Evaluation of the Hydrodynamic Stability of an Eco-Engineered Armouring Unit

“…Biodiversity is fundamental for well-functioning marine ecosystems that provide essential services and benefits to human societies. In recent years, there has been a growing interest by diverse stakeholders to integrate nature-based structural solutions into the designs of CMI projects (De Vriend et al, 2014;King et al, 2021;Sella et al, 2022). By implementing science based, cost effective and scalable design enhancements that are in accordance with the principles of ecological engineering it is possible to modify the design of CMI to encourage the increased growth of native organisms, as well as greater species richness (Perkol-Finkel and Sella, 2014).…”