Overview

Abstract: Sand nourishment has effects on the benthos on the beach and the foreshore through, among others, burial of benthic species and changes the structure of the beach and foreshore morphology.
Technology Readiness Level: 5 (technology validated in relevant environment)
Landscapes: Sandy coasts
Keywords: Nourishment, biogeomorphology, ecology

The sandy shores of The Netherlands are maintained by supplying sand to the beaches and the upper shoreface. To enable predicting future states of beach ecosystems, and to contribute to the development of effective and sustainable nourishment practices, knowledge on ecological and morphological processes is essential. As these two aspects of the environment are mutually dependent, understanding how they influence each other is an absolute necessity. A literature review has been conducted, with focus on the macrozoobenthos in and on the sediment on the shoreface and in the surf zone. Results are described in Baptist et al. (2008) from the integrated perspective of the disciplines geomorphology, ecology and biogeomorphology. The latter is the study of the interaction between geomorphological processes and biota (Baptist, 2005).