Restoring the natural functional capacity of coastal dune ecosystems: Utilising research records for New Zealand littoral refurbishment as a proxy for analogous global responses

Abstract

Aggregated results from twenty years of community-engaged assiduous restoration of severely degraded coastal littoral systems in New Zealand (NZ) reveal numerous fundamental and substantive natural improvements to dune form, function, and storm resilience. This is accomplished by simple, low-cost exclusive utilisation of the variably threatened local indigenous dune plant species. These valuable and innovative enhancements succeed countless decades of cascading consequences from numerous impacts instigated by historic (and frequently continuing) damaging effects on those previously natural coastal dune ecosystems – impacts that subsequently induced problematic littoral retreat – the true root cause of prevailing coastal erosion. The durable reversals were often generated in less than two decades, contemporaneously with adverse storm surge and sea level rise conditions. Research reveals many global dune ecosystems are afflicted with analogous normalised degradation and erosion difficulties, with the earliest active circumvention recorded in sixteenth century Denmark (McKelvey 1999). Historic plus current pressures such as coastal settlement impacts and continuing agricultural use of dunelands similarly threaten numerous global littoral margins, alongside recent concerns regarding the compounding effects of climate change. Successful, affordable, diligent dune restoration work pioneered in NZ has extensive benefits for other nations experiencing similarly challenging attrition on degraded coastal zones. Persuasive data is presented to validate the numerous persistently accrued benefits of this cost-effective and enduring coastal adaptation response.