Document Type
Article
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
VIMS Department/Program
Center for Coastal Resources Management (CCRM)
Publication Date
2021
Journal
PeerJ
Volume
9
Issue
e11815
Abstract
Nature-based shoreline protection provides a welcome class of adaptations to promote ecological resilience in the face of climate change. Along coastlines, living shorelines are among the preferred adaptation strategies to both reduce erosion and provide ecological functions. As an alternative to shoreline armoring, living shorelines are viewed favorably among coastal managers and some private property owners, but they have yet to undergo a thorough examination of how their levels of ecosystem functions compare to their closest natural counterpart: fringing marshes. Here, we provide a synthesis of results from a multi-year, large-spatial-scale study in which we compared numerous ecological metrics (including habitat provision for fish, invertebrates, diamondback terrapin, and birds, nutrient and carbon storage, and plant productivity) measured in thirteen pairs of living shorelines and natural fringing marshes throughout coastal Virginia, USA. Living shorelines were composed of marshes created by bank grading, placement of sand fill for proper elevations, and planting of S. alterniflora and S. patens, as well as placement of a stone sill seaward and parallel to the marsh to serve as a wave break. Overall, we found that living shorelines were functionally equivalent to natural marshes in nearly all measured aspects, except for a lag in soil composition due to construction of living shoreline marshes with clean, low-organic sands. These data support the prioritization of living shorelines as a coastal adaptation strategy.
DOI
doi: 10.7717/peerj.11815
Keywords
Nekton, Plants, Invertebrates, Birds, Terrapin, Soils, Nature-based shoreline protection
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Isdell, Robert; Bilkovic, Donna M.; Guthrie, Amanda; Mitchell, Molly; Chambers, Randolph M.; Leu, Matthias; and Hershner, Carl, Living shorelines achieve functional equivalence to natural fringe marshes across multiple ecological metrics (2021). PeerJ, 9(e11815).
doi: 10.7717/peerj.11815
