Search

Understanding the sensitivity of tidal flats to environmental changes is challenging. Currently, most studies rely on process-based models to systematically explain the morphodynamic evolution of tidal flats. In this study, we proposed an alternative empirical approach to explore tidal flat dynamics using statistical indices based on long-term time series of daily surface elevation development. Surface elevation dynamic (SED) indices focus on the magnitude and period of surface elevation changes, while morphodynamic signature (MDS) indices relate sediment dynamics to environmental drivers. The statistical analyses were applied to an intervention site in the Netherlands to determine the effect of recently constructed groynes on the tidal flat. Using these analyses, we were able to (1) detect a reduction in the daily SED and (2) determine that the changes in the daily SED were predominantly caused by the reduction in wave impact between the groynes rather than the reduction in tidal currents. Overall, the presented results showed that the combination of novel statistical indices provides new insights into the trajectories of tidal flats, ecosystem functioning, and sensitivity to physical drivers (wind and tides). Finally, we suggested how the SED and MDS indices may help to explore the future trajectories and climate resilience of intertidal habitats.

Seagrass meadows provide valuable ecosystem services of coastal protection and chemical habitat formation that could help mitigate the impact of sea level rise and ocean acidification. However, the intensification of hydrodynamic forces caused by sea level rise, in addition to habitat degradation threaten the provision of these ecosystem services. With quantitative field measurements of the coastal protection and chemical habitat formation services of seagrass meadows, we statistically model the relationships between hydrodynamic forces, vegetation density and the provision of these ecosystem services. Utilising a high-resolution hydrodynamic model that simulates end of the century hydrodynamic conditions and three scenarios of coral reef degradation (i.e., keep up, remain or loss) we quantify how the environmental conditions within a tropical bay will change given changes to the provision of ecosystem services. Our study shows that increasing hydrodynamic forces lead to a seafloor made up of a larger grain size that is increasingly unstable and more vulnerable to erosion. The loss of a fringing reef leads to larger hydrodynamic forces entering the bay, however, the 0.87 m increase in depth due to sea-level rise reduces the bed shear stress in shallower areas, which limits the change in the ecosystem services provided by the current benthic seagrass meadow. Loss of seagrass constitutes the greatest change in a bay ecosystem, resulting in the sediment surface where seagrass existed becoming unstable and the median sediment grain size increasing by 5-7 %. The loss of seagrass also leads to the disappearance of the unique fluctuating chemical habitat, which leaves the surrounding community vulnerable to ocean acidification. A reduction or complete loss of these ecosystem services would impact the entire community assemblage while also leaving the surrounding coastline vulnerable to erosion, thus exacerbating negative effects brought about by climate change.

Storm surge barriers (SSBs) protect the hinterland of estuaries against flooding, while in open state the tidal dynamics are maintained to some extent. Even when tidal dynamics are maintained, tidal conditions are inevitably affected by the confinement of the flow. As a result, intertidal flats – providing important ecosystem services – face losses through erosion. In this work, we integrated research on (1) morphological consequences of the Eastern Scheldt SSB (The Netherlands, 1987) and (2) intertidal flat nourishments mitigating these negative eco-morphological consequences. Through decades of data, we show that the SSB induced persistent erosion. We have demonstrated that sand nourishments on tidal flats can effectively mitigate SSB-induced erosion and ecological consequences. We have found that net lowering of tidal flats in systems as the Eastern Scheldt will proceed, also given accelerated sea level rise. Even though tidal flat nourishments are an effective mitigation strategy, we urge to steer first on minimizing irreversible hydromorphological changes caused by future SSB projects (e.g., considered for Galveston Bay). Through monitoring data on intertidal flat sand nourishments in this system, we identify the potential of these mitigation measures and provide recommendations for future SSB deployments and mitigation.

Vegetated coastal ecosystems such as saltmarshes, mangroves and seagrass beds are increasingly promoted as sustainable storm and flood defence solutions by reducing wave energy. Yet, there is still intense debate on the ability of root mats to mitigate erosion, with some studies arguing that the direct contribution of roots in preventing sediment erosion is minor, while others consider them of major importance. Here, we hypothesized that the contrasting findings on the role of seagrass root mats in preventing erosion may stem from differences in sediment type. To test this idea, we investigated how root mats of seagrass that thrives in both sandy and muddy sediments mitigate wave-induced cliff erosion using Zostera marina in manipulative flume experiments. Results demonstrate that roots are very effective in reducing cliff erosion rates in sandy sediments. Cliff erosion rates were reduced up to 70% in sandy sediment with high seagrass root biomass. In contrast, cliff erosion rates in cohesive muddy sediments were low and unaffected by seagrass roots. This highlights the important role of seagrass roots in erosion mitigation, which has been overlooked compared to the role of canopies, which has received more attention. We suggest that management strategies should be developed to enhance the stabilization of sandy sediment, such as (1) using species with high belowground biomass, (2) using fast-growing pioneer species and (3) applying temporary stabilising measures.

The implementation of climate change mitigation strategies based on the conservation and restoration of Blue Carbon ecosystems requires a deep understanding of themagnitude and variability in organic carbon (Corg) storage across and within these ecosystems. This study explored the variability in soil Corg stocks and burial rates across and within intertidal estuarine habitats of the Atlantic European coast and its relation to biotic and abiotic drivers. A total of 136 soil cores were collected across saltmarshes located at different tidal zones (high marsh, N = 45; low marsh, N = 30), seagrass meadows (N=17) and tidal flats (N=44), and from the inner to the outer sections of five estuaries characterized by different basin land uses. Soil Corg stocks were higher in high-marsh communities (65±3 Mg ha-1) than in low-marsh communities (38 ±3 Mg ha-1), seagrass meadows (40 ± 5 Mg ha-1) and unvegetated tidal flats (46± 3Mg ha-1) whereas Corg burial rates also tended to be higher in highmarshes (62±13 g m-2 y-1) compared to low marshes (43 ± 15 g m-2 y-1) and tidal flats (35 ± 9 g m-2 y-1). Soil Corg stocks and burial rates decreased from inner to outer estuarine sections in most estuaries reflecting the decrease in the river influence towards the estuary mouth. Higher soil Corg stocks were related to higher content of silt and clay and higher proportion of forest and natural land within the river basin, pointing at new opportunities for protecting coastal natural carbon sinks based on the conservation and restoration of upland ecosystems. Our study contributes to the global inventory of Blue Carbon by adding data from unexplored regions and habitats in Europe, and by identifying drivers of variability across and within estuaries. The authors acknowledge the financial support fromthe Government of Cantabria through the “Fénix Programme”. IM was supported by a Juan de la Cierva Incorporación postdoctoral fellowship of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (JC2020-045917-I).OS was supported by I+D+i projects RYC2019-027073-I and PIE HOLOCENO 20213AT014 funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and FEDER. The IAEA is grateful for the support provided to its Marine Environment Laboratories by the Government of the Principality of Monaco. PM was supported by the Australian Research Council. J.G.O. acknowledges the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, through the “Maria de Maeztu” program for Units of Excellence (CEX2019-000940-M) and the Generalitat de Catalunya (MERS; 2017 SGR–1588). This research was carried out with the contribution of the LIFE Programme of the European Union to the Project ADAPTA BLUES (ref. LIFE18 CCA/ES/001160). This document reflects only the authors' view and the Agency/Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

Identify critical factors driving seedling establishment is essential for saltmarsh restoration. Recent studies highlight drainage can facilitate seedling establishment for different saltmarsh species, yet the underling mechanism remains largely unknown. By a manipulative mesocosm experiment with contrasting sediment drainage treatments, we investigated the impacts of drainage on Spartina anglica seedlings survival, growth and stability. Surprisingly, neither S. anglica seedling survival nor seedling growth were observed to be directly promoted by well drained treatment. However, the critical erosion depth (maximum erosion tolerance) of S. anglica seedlings was found to positively correlate with seedling root length. Measurements on the sediment properties revealed that drainage increased the critical shear strength of sediments with lower water content and higher dry bulk density. These findings indicate that, by dewatering, drainage aids to sediment consolidation and critical shear strength, and thereby facilitate seedling establishment in tempering sediment dynamics. The latter is supported by a field study, in which we found that the magnitude of the sediment dynamics on two tidal flats were positively related to water content of sediment. Overall, present study suggests that drainage could be a key factor that determines seedling stability during the critical windows of opportunity for seedling establishment, and that it could be integrated into future designs for saltmarsh restoration to enhance establishment success.

Tidal marshes are increasingly valued for their nature-based shoreline protection function, as they reduce waves, currents and erosion. The effectiveness of this function depends on the ability of tidal marsh plants to grow and survive under pressure from waves and currents. However, how this varies with species-dependent plant traits is poorly understood. We performed a field transplantation experiment to quantify species-specific growth responses to different levels of hydrodynamic exposure and tidal inundation for 3 NW European marsh species: Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani, Bolboschoenus maritimus and Phragmites australis. In this order, these species showed increasing shoot stiffness, length and biomass, which are traits that increase hydrodynamic drag forces experienced by plants. Increased exposure to tidal inundation and hydrodynamics reduced the growth of all 3 species, but species with lower biomass and shorter, thinner and more flexible shoots could better cope with higher hydrodynamic exposure and tidal inundation. Furthermore, transplants of S. tabernaemontani (i.e. the species with the lowest shoot stiffness, length and biomass that survived under all tested conditions) developed smaller, thinner and more flexible shoots in response to higher hydrodynamic exposure and inundation. Hence our study indicates that similar inter- and intra-specific plant traits drive plant growth in response to hydrodynamics and inundation. This suggests that the spatial distribution of species typically observed in tidal marshes results not only from species-specific tolerance to tidal inundation gradients but also from hydrodynamic gradients. Allowing enough space for development of species zonation may be important to increase the efficiency of nature-based shoreline protection by tidal marshes.

The effects of sea-level rise on the future morphological functioning of estuaries are largely unknown because tidal amplitudes will change due to combined deepening of the estuary mouth and shifting amphidromic points at sea. Fluvial sediment supply is also globally decreasing, which hampers infilling necessary to maintain elevation relative to sea level. Here we model 36 estuaries worldwide with varying sizes, shapes and hydrodynamic characteristics, and find that small shallow estuaries and large deep estuaries respond in opposite ways to sea-level rise. Large estuaries are threatened by sediment starvation and therefore loss of intertidal area, particularly if tidal amplitude decreases at the mouth. In contrast, small estuaries face enhanced flood risks and are more sensitive to tidal amplification on sea-level-rise-induced deepening. Estuary widening can partly mitigate adverse effects. In large estuaries, expanded intertidal areas increase tidal prism and available erodible sediment for adaptation, whereas it slightly reduces tidal amplification in small estuaries. Small shallow estuaries face enhanced flood risk under climate change because of sea-level-rise-induced tidal amplification. In contrast, large deep estuaries are threatened by sediment starvation and therefore a loss of intertidal area. Both cases can potentially be mitigated by estuary widening.

The value of mangroves has been widely acknowledged, but mangrove forests continue to decline due to numerous anthropogenic stressors. The impact of plastic waste is however poorly known, even though the amount of plastic litter is the largest in the region where mangroves are declining the fastest: South East Asia. In this study, we examine the extent of the plastic waste problem in mangroves along the north coast of Java, Indonesia. First, we investigate how much of the forest floor is covered by plastic in the field (in number of items per m2 and in percentage of the forest floor covered by plastic), and if plastic is also buried in the upper layers of the sediment. We then experimentally investigate the effects of a range of plastic cover percentages (0%, 50% and 100%) on root growth, stress response of the tree and tree survival over a period of six weeks. Field monitoring showed that plastic was abundant, with 27 plastic items per m2 on average, covering up to 50% of the forest floor at multiple locations. Moreover, core data revealed that plastic was frequently buried in the upper layers of the sediment where it becomes immobile and can create prolonged anoxic conditions. Our experiment subsequently revealed that prolonged suffocation by plastic caused immediate pneumatophore growth and potential leaf loss. However, trees in the 50%-plastic cover treatment proved surprisingly resilient and were able to maintain their canopy over the course of the experiment, whereas trees in the 100%-plastic cover treatment had a significantly decreased leaf area index and survival by the end of the experiment. Our findings demonstrate that mangrove trees are relatively resilient to partial burial by plastic waste. However, mangrove stands are likely to deteriorate eventually if plastic continues to accumulate.

Wave flume facilities that are primarily designed for engineering studies are often complex and expensive to operate, and hence not ideal for long‐term replicated experiments as commonly used in biology. This study describes a low‐cost small wave flume that can be used for biological purposes using fresh‐ or seawater with or without sediment. The wave flume can be used as a mesocosm to study interactions between wave hydrodynamics and benthic organisms in aquatic ecosystems. The low‐costs wave maker (−1 representing shallow coastal areas with a short fetch. The system can generate both regular waves (i.e., the wave period and orbital velocity remains constant), using a wave absorber, and irregular waves (i.e., varying wave period and orbital velocity) using a fast push and slow pull motion of the wave paddle. This wave mesocosm system is particularly useful in biogeomorphology to quantify interactions between organisms, sediment, and hydrodynamics and for aquatic ecologist aiming to simulate realistic bed shear stress where short‐ and long‐term experiments (weeks–months) can be replicated.

Sandy coasts represent about one-third of the global coastline and are among the most valuable and most vulnerable areas for humans and many other species. Socio-economic development and climate change impacts, together with traditional engineering for shore protection, have pervasively resulted in coastal squeeze, thereby threatening coastal life and economic activities, and the very survival of coastal ecosystems. In the past, the responses to problems such as land loss, coastal erosion and flooding were primarily reactive, through gray engineering solutions, with little interest shown in the ecosystem processes impacted by coastal armoring. In recent decades, coastal management strategies have become more diverse, embracing traditional engineering solutions alongside ecosystem-based measures. Even so, many of these new strategies still fail to meet sustainability criteria. Inspired by Per Bruun’s “The Ten Demands for Coastal Protection” from 1972, this article attempts to consider these changes and knowledge acquired since the 1970s, in order to tentatively formulate “Ten Commandments” for the sustainability of sandy coasts in face of climate change and socio-economic development. As such, the paper offers a new vision and briefly summarizes good practices for the management of sandy coasts, particularly useful for those who, at whatever level of influence, could contribute to the long-term realization of this new vision.

Morphology and physiology are two key aspects of the adaptation of kelp to varying environments. Some of these kelp responses to co-occurring highly hydrodynamic condition and high nutrient availability are well documented, but little is known about how these factors affect frond surface shape, particularly in the central frond. In this study, morphological and physiological traits of acclimatized Saccharina latissima (Phaeophyceae) (three size classes: 44.14 ± 1.15 cm, 29.60 ± 0.75 cm, and 16.07 ± 0.45 cm) were compared after 56 days under fully controlled conditions of waves or no waves, and high or low nutrient availability (i.e., LN-NW, LN-W, HN-NW, and HN-W treatments). Waves primarily increased frond biomass, elongation rate, and carbon to nitrogen ratio (C:N ratio) and induced both a greater variety in and rougher frond surface shapes. The fastest, second-fastest, and slowest growth rates were observed in the HN-W, LN-W, and LN-NW treatments, respectively. The highest C:N ratio was observed in the LN-W treatment. Together, these results seem to suggest that the thready and spring-like shapes found in the central frond (i.e., rougher frond surface) in wave-exposed conditions can at least partly compensate for low nutrient availability by enhancing nutrient and photon acquisition, particularly in low nutrient conditions. Additionally, large individuals showed significantly larger and heavier fronds compared with other size classes, and the meristematic sections of fronds had the most variance in frond surface shapes and highest C:N ratios compared with distal and mid-sections. Together, these results indicate that frond surface shapes in the newly formed central frond of S. latissima can be regarded both as possessing high morphological and physiological plasticity that enables kelp to cope with contrasting environments.

Nearshore biogenic habitats are known to trap sediments, and may therefore also accumulate biofouled, non-buoyant microplastics. Using a current-generating field flume (TiDyFLOW), we experimentally assessed the mechanisms of microplastic trapping of two size classes, 0.5 mm and 2.5 mm particle size, by three contrasting types of biogenic habitats: 1) seagrasses, 2) macroalgae, and 3) scleractinian corals. Results showed that benthic organisms with a complex architecture and rough surface – such as hard corals – trap the highest number of microplastics in their aboveground structure. Sediment was however the major microplastic sink, accumulating 1 to 2 orders of magnitude more microplastics than the benthic structure. Microplastic accumulation in the sediment could be explained by near-bed turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), indicating that this is governed by the same hydrodynamic processes leading to sediment trapping. Thus, the most valuable biogenic habitats in terms of nursery and coastal protection services also have the highest capacity of accumulating microplastics in their sediments. A significantly larger fraction of 0.5 mm particles was trapped in the sediment compared to 2.5 mm particles, because especially the smaller microplastics are entrained into the sediment. Present observations contribute to explaining why especially microplastics smaller than 1 mm are missing in surface waters.

Coastal areas are at increasing risk from flooding and erosion due to coastal development and climate change. Seagrass meadows, like other coastal ecosystems, can stabilise sediments, indirectly reducing coastal erosion. There is evidence that seagrass can reduce both the erosion of seabeds and lateral erosion of seagrass cliffs. However, these previous studies have only considered seagrass species whose below-ground biomass form denseroot mats. This study aimed to investigate whether Enhalus acoroides, a species which does not form root mats,reduces lateral erosion rates of seagrass cliffs. To do this, samples of E. acoroides collected in sandy sediments within Xincun Bay China were transplanted into a wave flume. Lateral erosion rates were measured under exposure to waves for five cliff heights over 1 h. There was an interaction between cliff height and time on the rate of erosion, with higher erosion rates earlier in the experiment for larger cliff heights. The cores with the E. acoroides persisted longer than unvegetated cores, regardless of cliff height, but this result was not assessed statistically due to constraints in the analyses. The below-ground biomass of E. acoroides samples in this study was higher than values previously reported in the literature. Overall, these results suggest that non-dense root-mat forming seagrass species may not provide equivalent sediment stabilisation as dense root-mat-forming species, likely due to the reduced binding structure of the roots in species such as Enhalus.

Understanding how geomorphic landscape features affect physical habitat conditions is essential for predicting if such geomorphic landscape features may act as conduits facilitating invasive species expansion in coastal ecosystems. Although the effects of various abiotic and biotic factors on plant invasion in salt marshes have been well studied, little is known about the impact of tidal channels on plant invasion. Here, weexamined the effects of bottom-up determinants on the lateral expansion of Spartina alterniflora in tidal channel margins of different elevational marsh zones: the low, middle and high marsh, in the Yellow River Delta, China. Field observations and experiments showed that the microhabitats of tidal channel margins are characterized by relatively low soil salinity and high inundation, which significantly facilitated theestablishment, growth, colonization and sexual reproduction of S. alterniflora. Moreover, the facilitating effect of tidal channel margins on plant landward invasion appeared more sensitive in middle and high marshes compared with the low marshes. High propagule pressure combined with suitable physical conditions of the structural microhabitats formed within tidal channels potentially promoted the rapid expansion of S. alterniflora along the tidal channel margins. Based on these results, a conceptual model was built illustrating the lateral expansion mechanisms of the invasive plant mediated by tidal channels. These results highlight the importance of tidal channel-mediated gradients in bottom-up abiotic and biotic-dispersal factors in facilitating the expansion of coastal invasive plants. For wetlands management, our results imply that geomorphic landscape features should be incorporated into ecological management and risk assessment of invasive plants.

The benthic communities of soft-sediment intertidal ecosystems trophically underpin the migration of birds and fish. Within the East Atlantic Flyway, along the coast of West-Africa, the intertidal mudflats of Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania, host over 2 million migratory waterbirds. Despite the protected status of the Banc d’Arguin, geographical remoteness and seemingly benign human exploitation, we show that large changes have taken place in the intertidal benthic macrofauna across an interval of 28 years. We compared the results of two comparable and spatially comprehensive large-scale benthic surveys in 1986 and 2014. Over this time, the benthos changed from a diverse community to one dominated by a few species of bivalve, with a loss of polychaete worms. The change was associated with a twofold increase in the seagrass cover. Our results suggest that the intertidal habitats of Banc d’Arguin have altered markedly over the last three decades and the estimated benthic secondary production has decreased by a factor of four. These shifts in community structure and production may have contributed to declines in some benthivorous migratory shorebirds.