Review of Beach and Dune Restoration by Karl F. NordstromBeach and Dune RestorationCambridge University Press978-0-521853-460$140.00

Abstract

As stated in the preface, Beach and Dune Restoration was written to be a companion volume to other coastal engineering design manuals on the use of beach nourishment and dune restoration as storm protection structures. This book states that it is intended to provide ideas on modifying practices of beach and dune engineering to enhance natural processes and make them more dynamic while maintaining beach and dune functions as shore protection structures and managing them over time as functional natural features. This book will likely become a useful text for advanced undergraduate and graduate coastal engineering and coastal zone management classes as well as a reference for coastal engineers, planners, and managers. Although it is not a design manual, it will provide the practicing coastal engineer and coastal planner with ideas and reasons to design beach fills with dunes that will be more natural and will provide environmental benefits while still providing shore protection. The book is divided into eight chapters: “The Need for Restoration”; “Beach Nourishment and Impacts”; “Dune Building Practices and Impacts”; “Restoring Processes, Structure, and Functions”; “Options in Spatially Restricted Environments”; “A Locally Based Program for Beach and Dune Restoration”; “Stakeholder Interests, Conflicts, and Cooperation”; and “Research Needs.” Photographs provide examples from various locations around the world. Illustrations are sparse but help the reader to understand the processes and configurations described. Tables are used throughout to provide more information on the subject. Chapter 1 18 pages provides a statement of the problem and an overview of beach restoration. The chapter describes how urban coastal environments are modified by human interaction, such as erosion pressures and conflicting use practices. The author emphasizes the importance of beaches and dunes in the coastal environment. He identifies the need to restore beaches and dunes that have been under erosion pressures. Chapter 1 also briefly defines concepts and approaches to restoration commonly used today and introduces types of restoration projects. Chapter 2 30 pages describes the common beach nourishment project practices used today. The primary focus of this book is to evaluate the long-term feasibility of using beach nourishment to enhance natural habitats in highly developed settings. General design considerations and sediment characteristics are briefly reviewed. Potential negative environmental impacts are discussed in terms of their effects on placement and borrow areas. These impacts include burial and turbidity, changes in beach morphology and dynamics, and the introduction of noncompatible sediment and mineralogy, such as sediment that is coarser or finer than native sediment. Long-term impacts on the biota, aesthetic