The monitoring of 'ecological' beach nourishment impacts on macrobenthos, within a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) along the Belgian coast

The expected increase in intensity and frequency of storm events combined with the undeniable rise in sea water level, both connected to climate change, poses a threat to coastal low lands. As it safeguards the natural dynamics of the coast, beach nourishment has rapidly become the preferred protective and restoring measure in coastal zones worldwide. We tested whether optimizing the main technical aspects of a nourishment according to ecological recommendations, e.g. a gentle sloped beach with nourished sand resembling the original sediment very closely (average median grain size of 224 µm),... Mehr ...