The role of physical disturbance for litter decomposition and nutrient cycling in coastal sand dunes

Where does marine litter hide? The Providencia and Santa Catalina Island problem, SEAFLOWER Reserve (Colombia)

“…The sea-inland gradient was studied, for example, by Šilc et al (2018), who showed how bags and expanded polystyrene pieces could be transported by the wind since they are lighter than other plastic pieces. This study, and other recent works (Andriolo et al, 2020a(Andriolo et al, , 2020b(Andriolo et al, , 2021bLaporte-Fauret et al, 2021), also revealed that different ecosystems are polluted by litter from different sources via various pathways, corroborating the interconnectedness of the coastal system. However, especially on tourist beaches, the accumulation of litter in the back-beach vegetation area is more strongly linked to beach cleaning, whereby waste is "swept away" from the gaze of tourists.…”

Machine-Learning Classification of Soil Bulk Density in Salt Marsh Environments

“…Disturbances cause irreversible alterations in the condition of salt marsh communities over time [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Sea-level rise, drought, and physical alteration in soils, as well as changes in hydrological patterns, exert major pressures on salt marsh ecosystems [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Disturbances in salt marshes negatively impact soil structure, which is one of the main components of coastal wetlands and responsible for the high primary production of coastal marshes [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”

Foredune blowout formation and subsequent evolution along a chronically eroding high-energy coast

“…Under strong onshore wind, the airflow is topographically accelerated through the deflation basin, it erodes the base of the deflation basin and transports the sand into the deposition lobe or beyond to the back dune (Hesp and Hyde, 1996;Fraser et al, 1998;Pease and Gares, 2013). These new deposits generate a disturbance for plants species that can lead to a local vegetation rejuvenation (Nordstorm et al, 2007, Laporte-Fauret et al, 2021aLaporte-Fauret et al, 2021b) and a vertical accretion potentially increasing the back dune resilience to sea-level rise and coastal erosion (Clemmensen et al, 2001;Hesp, 2002;Petersen et al, 2005;Rhind and Jones, 2009;Arens et al, 2013;Hesp and Hilton, 2013;Martinez et al, 2013;Kuipers, 2014;Jewell et al, 2017;Pye and Blott, 2017). For this reason, in recent years (natural or artificial) blowouts have been progressively considered as a potential means for efficient management approach in some regions of the world (Van Boxel et al, 1997;Arens et al, 2013;Kuipers, 2014;Pye and Blott, 2016;Ruessink et al, 2018;Laporte-Fauret et al, 2021b).…”