Author(s): Maria Maza; Isabel Gallego

Linked Author(s): Maria Maza

Keywords: Waves; Currents; Coastal vegetation; Nature-based solutions; Coastal protection

Abstract: Estimation of the flow energy dissipation induced by an ecosystem that accounts for its characteristics and the incident hydrodynamic conditions is crucial if ecosystem-based coastal protection measurements want to be implemented. Previous studies have shown that wave height attenuation positively correlates with the meadow standing biomass for saltmarshes subjected to waves (Maza et al., 2022). These studies highlight the crucial role played by the standing biomass that can be used to estimate the ecosystem wave damping capacity without using calibration coefficients. Later, the formulations of Maza et al. (2022) were successfully implemented in the SWAN model and applied to reproduce a field campaign, revealing the remarkable capabilities of the approach to reproduce the wave evolution along a saltmarsh with varying properties along the intertidal zone (Lopez-Arias et al. 2023). The potential of this new approach has not been tested for other types of vegetation, like seagrasses, nor for conditions where waves and currents are simultaneously present. Then, a new set of experiments using real vegetation with contrasting morphology and biomechanical properties, and subjected to different combinations of waves and currents, is proposed to further test this novel approach. The obtained standing biomass-attenuation relationships found in this study will help to quantify the expected coastal protection provided by different vegetated ecosystems based on their standing biomass under the combined effect of waves and currents.

DOI:

Year: 2025