Abstract

During the last decades, millions of dollars have been spent on reducing consequences of extreme events and, to a lesser extent, on climate change adaptation in coastal areas. Most of these funds have been devoted to the implementation of traditional engineering measures. However, in the last few years, coastal managers have become interested in low environmental impact alternatives, or nature-based solutions (NBS), to protect the coast. Although the capacity of coastal ecosystems to damp flow energy has been widely recognized, they have not been firmly considered in the range of coastal protection options. This is mainly due to the complexity of the flow-ecosystem interaction and the lack of correct quantification of the coastal protection service provided by these ecosystems. In order to better understand how coastal ecosystems can protect the coast, this study analyses the role of the three main vegetated ecosystems that extend along coastal areas: seagrasses, saltmarshes and mangrove forests.  The webinar presents the results of different experimental and numerical studies, including new formulations and tools to predict how these ecosystems damp flow energy and can be applied in coastal defense policies as NBS.