1.3 Coastal Dune Restoration: What Do We Know?
What is coastal dune restoration? The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER)
defines restoration as:
The process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded,
damaged or destroyed. It is an intentional activity that initiates or accelerates
ecosystem recovery with respect to its health (functional processes), integrity
(species composition and community structure), and sustainability (resistance to
disturbance and resilience (http//www.ser.org/content/guidelines_ecological_
restoration.asp).
Certainly, this is a broad concept that applies to many situations and ecosystems.
The problem with it is the difficulty applying this definition to coastal dunes. In
general, independently of the definition of coastal dune restoration, the literature
reports the following actions when dealing with coastal dune restoration:
1. Reshaping dunes and recovering sediment dynamics: many coastal dunes
around the world, and foredunes in particular, have been built on to various
degrees, modified, re-shaped, removed or gradually destroyed because of
human actions. In addition, many dunes have been invaded by exotic species, or
exotic species have been deliberately introduced to the dune systems (e.g., Hesp
2000; Hilton 2006; Hilton et al. 2005, 2009; Nordstrom et al. 2009). In order to
restore some degree of natural dune functioning, dunes have been constructed by:
(a) Planting vegetation and/or constructing sand fences along the backshore,
which then trap sand and cause foredunes to form.
(b) Transferring sediment from the beach or from elsewhere to the backshore
and constructing a dune, including utilizing various artificial structures as
part of the construction (e.g., buried sea walls, geotubes etc.).
(c) Removing manmade landforms (e.g., clay bunds or berms, concrete
revetments or promenades) and either allowing dune-forming processes to
re-start, or re-creating a more natural dune form. Dune areas have also been
de-vegetated to allow, or induce greater aeolian activity and processes to
take place. In all these activities, and other similar actions, the aim has
generally been to restore the natural aeolian functioning of the system,
allow natural surfzone–beach–foredune interactions to occur, or create an
environment where native plant species can survive and form natural dunes.
2. Vegetation: most of the literature that we have found on coastal dune restoration is aimed at plants. Here, a recurrent issue that is addressed in restoration
actions is counteracting the negative impact of dune stabilization, which results
in depressed biodiversity (Remke et al. 2009; Arens and Geelen 2006; KetnerOostra et al. 2006) and even loss of endemic species (Kutiel et al. 2000). In
similarity to that which occurs in other ecosystems, invasive species have been
considered a problem to be faced with coastal dune restoration, because they
eliminate native plant and animal species (Marchante et al. 2008; Mason and
6
M. L. Martínez et al.
What is coastal dune restoration? The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER)
defines restoration as:
The process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded,
damaged or destroyed. It is an intentional activity that initiates or accelerates
ecosystem recovery with respect to its health (functional processes), integrity
(species composition and community structure), and sustainability (resistance to
disturbance and resilience (http//www.ser.org/content/guidelines_ecological_
restoration.asp).
Certainly, this is a broad concept that applies to many situations and ecosystems.
The problem with it is the difficulty applying this definition to coastal dunes. In
general, independently of the definition of coastal dune restoration, the literature
reports the following actions when dealing with coastal dune restoration:
1. Reshaping dunes and recovering sediment dynamics: many coastal dunes
around the world, and foredunes in particular, have been built on to various
degrees, modified, re-shaped, removed or gradually destroyed because of
human actions. In addition, many dunes have been invaded by exotic species, or
exotic species have been deliberately introduced to the dune systems (e.g., Hesp
2000; Hilton 2006; Hilton et al. 2005, 2009; Nordstrom et al. 2009). In order to
restore some degree of natural dune functioning, dunes have been constructed by:
(a) Planting vegetation and/or constructing sand fences along the backshore,
which then trap sand and cause foredunes to form.
(b) Transferring sediment from the beach or from elsewhere to the backshore
and constructing a dune, including utilizing various artificial structures as
part of the construction (e.g., buried sea walls, geotubes etc.).
(c) Removing manmade landforms (e.g., clay bunds or berms, concrete
revetments or promenades) and either allowing dune-forming processes to
re-start, or re-creating a more natural dune form. Dune areas have also been
de-vegetated to allow, or induce greater aeolian activity and processes to
take place. In all these activities, and other similar actions, the aim has
generally been to restore the natural aeolian functioning of the system,
allow natural surfzone–beach–foredune interactions to occur, or create an
environment where native plant species can survive and form natural dunes.
2. Vegetation: most of the literature that we have found on coastal dune restoration is aimed at plants. Here, a recurrent issue that is addressed in restoration
actions is counteracting the negative impact of dune stabilization, which results
in depressed biodiversity (Remke et al. 2009; Arens and Geelen 2006; KetnerOostra et al. 2006) and even loss of endemic species (Kutiel et al. 2000). In
similarity to that which occurs in other ecosystems, invasive species have been
considered a problem to be faced with coastal dune restoration, because they
eliminate native plant and animal species (Marchante et al. 2008; Mason and
6
M. L. Martínez et al.