Print Email Facebook Twitter Mangrove forests as a nature-based solution for coastal flood protection Title Mangrove forests as a nature-based solution for coastal flood protection: Biophysical and ecological considerations Author van Hespen, Rosanna (NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research; Universiteit Utrecht; Sun Yat-sen University) Hu, Zhan (Sun Yat-sen University; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering; Ministry of Education) Borsje, Bas W. (University of Twente) De Dominicis, Michela (National Oceanography Centre) Friess, Daniel A. (National University of Singapore) Jevrejeva, Svetlana (National Oceanography Centre) Kleinhans, Maarten G. (Universiteit Utrecht) Maza, Maria (Universidad de Cantabria) van Wesenbeeck, B (TU Delft Coastal Engineering; Deltares) Date 2022 Abstract Nature-based coastal protection is increasingly recognised as a potentially sustainable and cost-effective solution to reduce coastal flood risk. It uses coastal ecosystems such as mangrove forests to create resilient designs for coastal flood protection. However, to use mangroves effectively as a nature-based measure for flood risk reduction, we must understand the biophysical processes that govern risk reduction capacity through mangrove ecosystem size and structure. In this perspective, we evaluate the current state of knowledge on local physical drivers and ecological processes that determine mangrove functioning as part of a nature-based flood defence. We show that the forest properties that comprise coastal flood protection are well-known, but models cannot yet pinpoint how spatial heterogeneity of the forest structure affects the capacity for wave or surge attenuation. Overall, there is relatively good understanding of the ecological processes that drive forest structure and size, but there is a lack of knowledge on how daily bed-level dynamics link to long-term biogeomorphic forest dynamics, and on the role of combined stressors influencing forest retreat. Integrating simulation models of forest structure under changing physical (e.g. due to sea-level change) and ecological drivers with hydrodynamic attenuation models will allow for better projections of long-term natural coastal protection. Subject Bed-level dynamicsForest dynamicsForest structureHydrodynamic energy attenuationMangrove tree mortalitySeedling establishment To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:dca45784-5182-43d1-8fab-2c4fdf042039 DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wse.2022.10.004 ISSN 1674-2370 Source Water Science and Engineering, 16 (1), 1-13 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2022 Rosanna van Hespen, Zhan Hu, Bas W. Borsje, Michela De Dominicis, Daniel A. Friess, Svetlana Jevrejeva, Maarten G. Kleinhans, Maria Maza, B van Wesenbeeck, More Authors Files PDF 1_s2.0_S1674237022000874_main.pdf 2.45 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:dca45784-5182-43d1-8fab-2c4fdf042039/datastream/OBJ/view