We have invited experts from different parts of the world, and have asked them
to share their experiences on coastal dune restoration (however they define that,
and it is clear that there is a wide variety of opinions on what ‘‘restoration’’
comprises or means), whether this is a great success or a blatant failure: it all
provides useful information from which we can learn. The enthusiastic response
from these experts is evidence of the uniqueness of the book, where so many
coastal dune restoration actions are presented and analyzed critically.
The book is organized as follows. We first divided the compilation of studies
into the different landforms within the dune system that are usually restored,
namely: foredunes, foredune/blowout complexes, and dune fields (coastal dunes of
different shapes and mobility). We chose to follow this system because the natural
dynamics and disturbances (natural and anthropogenic) are very different for each
landform, and, thus, the restoration actions are obviously different too. Therefore,
a wide set of actions are included with a broad variety of goals for coastal dune
restoration after both natural and human-related disturbances. The third section
then deals with the very relevant issue of the costs of coastal dune restoration and
the value of ecosystem services from which society benefits. The fourth and last
section attempts to demonstrate the need to have a multidisciplinary approach to
successful restoration projects. Finally, the concluding chapter integrates all the
information provided in the whole book.
The first section begins with two chapters that provide a theoretical framework
for foredune restoration. On the one hand, Nordtsrom and Jackson (Chap. 2)
present a broad description of foredune restoration activities while focusing on
urban settings. Second, Psuty and Silveira (Chap. 3) describe a conceptual model
of sediment budget and its relevance in foredune restoration activities, with
examples from New Jersey and New York. In this study, the premise was that it is
difficult to restore the processes of coastal foredune development because the
processes themselves are the dynamics of moving wind and water.
Vestergaard (Chap. 4) and Hesp and Hilton (Chap. 5) provide the reader with
well documented case studies of foredune restoration actions that range from
building an artificial foredune and planting native species on it in Denmark, to
reshaping foredunes and using herbicides to remove exotic invasive species in
New Zealand. The last chapter in the section on foredunes deals with restoration of
foredunes after the impact of hurricanes on Galveston Island, USA (Feagin, Chap.
6). Because of the impact of recurring hurricanes on the Texas shore and the
repeated need for restoration, Feagin concludes that foredunes along these coasts
continuously face ‘‘inevitable destruction,’’ and thus, ‘‘certain reconstruction’’ is
always necessary.
Section 1.2 in the book focuses on dunefields and wet slacks. Here, coastal
dune restoration may refer to two contrasting types of actions: de-stabilization and
re-vegetation. A broad group of studies in this multinational compendium deals
with the ‘‘struggle of vegetation against sand.’’ This set of studies provides ample
evidence of how diversity decreases with dune stabilization in The Netherlands
(Arens et al., Chap. 7); Wales (Rhind et al., Chap. 8); Spain (Muñoz-Reinoso et al.,
Chap. 9); Northwestern USA (Pickart, Chap. 10) and Israel (Kutiel, Chap. 11).
8
M. L. Martínez et al.
to share their experiences on coastal dune restoration (however they define that,
and it is clear that there is a wide variety of opinions on what ‘‘restoration’’
comprises or means), whether this is a great success or a blatant failure: it all
provides useful information from which we can learn. The enthusiastic response
from these experts is evidence of the uniqueness of the book, where so many
coastal dune restoration actions are presented and analyzed critically.
The book is organized as follows. We first divided the compilation of studies
into the different landforms within the dune system that are usually restored,
namely: foredunes, foredune/blowout complexes, and dune fields (coastal dunes of
different shapes and mobility). We chose to follow this system because the natural
dynamics and disturbances (natural and anthropogenic) are very different for each
landform, and, thus, the restoration actions are obviously different too. Therefore,
a wide set of actions are included with a broad variety of goals for coastal dune
restoration after both natural and human-related disturbances. The third section
then deals with the very relevant issue of the costs of coastal dune restoration and
the value of ecosystem services from which society benefits. The fourth and last
section attempts to demonstrate the need to have a multidisciplinary approach to
successful restoration projects. Finally, the concluding chapter integrates all the
information provided in the whole book.
The first section begins with two chapters that provide a theoretical framework
for foredune restoration. On the one hand, Nordtsrom and Jackson (Chap. 2)
present a broad description of foredune restoration activities while focusing on
urban settings. Second, Psuty and Silveira (Chap. 3) describe a conceptual model
of sediment budget and its relevance in foredune restoration activities, with
examples from New Jersey and New York. In this study, the premise was that it is
difficult to restore the processes of coastal foredune development because the
processes themselves are the dynamics of moving wind and water.
Vestergaard (Chap. 4) and Hesp and Hilton (Chap. 5) provide the reader with
well documented case studies of foredune restoration actions that range from
building an artificial foredune and planting native species on it in Denmark, to
reshaping foredunes and using herbicides to remove exotic invasive species in
New Zealand. The last chapter in the section on foredunes deals with restoration of
foredunes after the impact of hurricanes on Galveston Island, USA (Feagin, Chap.
6). Because of the impact of recurring hurricanes on the Texas shore and the
repeated need for restoration, Feagin concludes that foredunes along these coasts
continuously face ‘‘inevitable destruction,’’ and thus, ‘‘certain reconstruction’’ is
always necessary.
Section 1.2 in the book focuses on dunefields and wet slacks. Here, coastal
dune restoration may refer to two contrasting types of actions: de-stabilization and
re-vegetation. A broad group of studies in this multinational compendium deals
with the ‘‘struggle of vegetation against sand.’’ This set of studies provides ample
evidence of how diversity decreases with dune stabilization in The Netherlands
(Arens et al., Chap. 7); Wales (Rhind et al., Chap. 8); Spain (Muñoz-Reinoso et al.,
Chap. 9); Northwestern USA (Pickart, Chap. 10) and Israel (Kutiel, Chap. 11).
8
M. L. Martínez et al.