Document Type
Report
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Publication Date
12-2011
Abstract
Armoring shorelines to prevent erosion, improve access, and accommodate individual landscaping interests can result in fragmentation or loss of habitats, reduction in capacity to moderate pollutant loads delivered to coastal waters, reduction in nekton and macrobenthic integrity (Bilkovic et al. 2005, King et al. 2005, Seitz et al. 2006, Bilkovic et al. 2006, Bilkovic & Roggero 2008), increases in invasive species, such as Phragmites australis (Chambers et al. 1999, King et al. 2007), and disturbance of sediment budgets sustaining adjacent properties. As an alternative to traditional armoring of shorelines, shoreline protection techniques incorporating natural elements from the system are increasingly promoted as not only less harmful to the system, but also beneficial due to their ability to provide or enhance coastal ecosystem services. However, there remains significant uncertainty regarding the benefits and impacts associated with many natural shoreline protection designs because there has been limited scientific investigation of adverse ecological affects associated with many of the current management options (e.g. Carroll 2002, Burke et al. 2005, Davis et al. 2006, Bilkovic & Roggero 2008).
Description
Final Report to Chesapeake Bay Trust, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Restoration Center, and the Maryland Department of the Environment
DOI
https://doi.org/10.25773/mbp8-xk78
Keywords
Shore protection--Chesapeake Bay; Shorelines--Conservation
Funding
Grant #773240
Recommended Citation
Bilkovic, D., & Mitchell, M. (2011) Ecological and erosion protection functions of Chesapeake Bay living shorelines : Comprehensive Monitoring of Ecological and Erosion Protection Functions of Chesapeake Bay Living Shorelines (CMLS), Phase I. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary. https://doi.org/10.25773/mbp8-xk78
