Seagrass beds: a natural bulwark against coastal erosion
Seagrass meadows are found along all European coasts and provide many essential ecological functions and ecosystem services, including erosion control and coastal stabilisation, habitat for a wide range of marine species, support for coastal fisheries and carbon capture and storage.
However, these key habitats are rapidly declining around the world, including in Europe. This decline is also observed in the Arcachon Basin, which is home to the largest Zostera noltei seagrass bed in Europe, as well as Zostera marina seagrass beds in the subtidal zone. The Zostera noltei and Zostera marina seagrass beds have lost 45% and 89% of their area respectively over the last two decades.
Through the REST-COAST project, we are identifying the technical, economic, social and governance barriers to large-scale ecosystem restoration and proposing low-carbon solutions that promote coastal risk reduction and biodiversity gains.
