Conserving the reefs and vegetation that buffer the US coast from waves might reduce by half the number of residents most at risk from storm surges and sea-level rise.
To work out where natural habitat provides the best defence, a team led by Katie Arkema at Stanford University in California used projections of future sea levels to estimate how vulnerable people and property would be to coastal hazards with and without intact natural habitats. Hazard indices calculated for every square kilometre of the US coastline showed that ecosystems had the greatest protective impact in Florida, New York and California.
In places where natural habitats most reduce risks, conservation or restoration should be considered alongside expensive engineering projects for coastal defence, the authors suggest.
Nature Clim. Change http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1944 (2013)
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Conserved coasts curb storm damage. Nature 499, 256 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/499256a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/499256a
