Sandy coasts, representing 40% of global shorelines, are essential for coastal defence and ecosystems. Natural solutions are increasingly studied to provide beach protection while enhancing ecosystem services, such as seagrass deposition on the coast. This study investigates the morphological evolution of a beach characterised by a low human impact, where Posidonia oceanica is present and forms banquettes. Fieldwork campaigns, including topographic surveys and drone mapping, were conducted over 1.5 years. A storm during one campaign led to the formation of extensive Posidonia banquettes, particularly in the southern part of the beach, a trend observed in all surveys. This distribution influenced erosion trends, with long medium-term analysis showing overall erosion, especially in northern areas with fewer banquettes and a dune retreat of around 3 meters. These findings highlight the critical role of Posidonia banquettes in protecting against dune erosion, at least locally, although significant erosion over 1.5 years occurred in the whole studied area, suggesting that further investigations are needed.
University of Ferrara, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-7232-9724
University of Ferrara, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0003-0027-8937
University of Cadiz, Spain - ORCID: 0000-0002-0365-5155
University of Ferrara, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0003-1851-212X
University of Ferrara, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0003-1146-9966
University of Ferrara, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-7107-8185
University of Bologna, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-5236-0185
Chapter Title
One-Year Evolution of a Mediterranean Sandy Beach with Posidonia oceanica Banquettes (Arborea, Sardinia, Italy)
Authors
Paulo Cabrita, Riccardo Brunetta, Juan Montes-Pérez, Sabrina Terracciano, Enrico Duo, Paolo Ciavola, Clara Armaroli
Language
Italian
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0556-6.58
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Tenth International Symposium Monitoring of Mediterranean Coastal Areas: Problems and Measurement Techniques
Book Subtitle
Livorno (Italy) 11th-13th June 2024
Editors
Laura Bonora, Marcantonio Catelani, Matteo De Vincenzi, Giorgio Matteucci
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0556-6
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0556-6
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-0557-3
Series Title
Monitoring of Mediterranean Coastal Areas: Problems and Measurement Techniques
Series E-ISSN
2975-0288