Chapter 2
Foredune Restoration in Urban Settings
Karl F. Nordstrom and Nancy L. Jackson
2.1 Introduction
Dunes will form anywhere there is a proper sediment source, a wind strong enough
to entrain and move sediment, and a means of reducing the speed of winds or
trapping the sand being moved. These conditions are readily met on most sand
beaches, including those undergoing long-term erosion. The dunes may not survive erosion during major storms, but new dunes will re-form following recovery
of the beach after storms. The reason sand dunes are not found landward of many
active sand beaches in developed areas is because they are mechanically removed
to enhance recreational use (Nordstrom 2008); in other cases, the beach is so
severely truncated by human structures that the small unvegetated dunes that
re-form are quickly eroded during the next storm. Once dunes are eliminated by
human activities, they are lost from the consciousness of stakeholders, and
attempts by managers to build new dunes are hampered by a lack of appreciation
of their value (Nordstrom et al. 2000).
Sand dunes, like many other natural environments, provide important ecosystem functions and services (Lubke and Avis 1998; Arens et al. 2001; Peterson and
Lipcius 2003; Everard et al. 2010), including:
1. Protection for human structures (providing sediment, a physical barrier or
resistant vegetation)
K. F. Nordstrom (&)
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers, the State University
of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
e-mail: nordstro@marine.rutgers.edu
N. L. Jackson
Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, New Jersey Institute
of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
e-mail: jacksonn@njit.edu
M. L. Martínez et al. (eds.), Restoration of Coastal Dunes, Springer Series
on Environmental Management, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-33445-0_2,
Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
17
Foredune Restoration in Urban Settings
Karl F. Nordstrom and Nancy L. Jackson
2.1 Introduction
Dunes will form anywhere there is a proper sediment source, a wind strong enough
to entrain and move sediment, and a means of reducing the speed of winds or
trapping the sand being moved. These conditions are readily met on most sand
beaches, including those undergoing long-term erosion. The dunes may not survive erosion during major storms, but new dunes will re-form following recovery
of the beach after storms. The reason sand dunes are not found landward of many
active sand beaches in developed areas is because they are mechanically removed
to enhance recreational use (Nordstrom 2008); in other cases, the beach is so
severely truncated by human structures that the small unvegetated dunes that
re-form are quickly eroded during the next storm. Once dunes are eliminated by
human activities, they are lost from the consciousness of stakeholders, and
attempts by managers to build new dunes are hampered by a lack of appreciation
of their value (Nordstrom et al. 2000).
Sand dunes, like many other natural environments, provide important ecosystem functions and services (Lubke and Avis 1998; Arens et al. 2001; Peterson and
Lipcius 2003; Everard et al. 2010), including:
1. Protection for human structures (providing sediment, a physical barrier or
resistant vegetation)
K. F. Nordstrom (&)
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers, the State University
of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
e-mail: nordstro@marine.rutgers.edu
N. L. Jackson
Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, New Jersey Institute
of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
e-mail: jacksonn@njit.edu
M. L. Martínez et al. (eds.), Restoration of Coastal Dunes, Springer Series
on Environmental Management, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-33445-0_2,
Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
17