Coastal Erosion

Coastal erosion has been devastating people’s properties for years now. Taking homeowner’s land away and eventually their homes. The impacts of climate change are getting stronger and fiercer, daily. As our climate continues to change, coastal erosion takes more land away.

Roots

So, what are we going to do about it?

Well, mother nature already has it all figured out; we must catch up!

In a natural environment, nothing has been disturbed; trees and shrubs can be found flourishing naturally along shorelines. Mother nature put them there for a reason. The roots of these plants, growing wider and deeper into the soil, eventually bonding to another set of roots and intertwine with them. The more the roots intertwine, the stronger the soil around those roots become, Making it that much more difficult for water to penetrate through and erode the land

Freezing

As if the crashing waves eating away at the land was not bad enough, but now our temperatures are becoming milder. You may be thinking to yourself, “how can milder temperatures be a dreadful thing?’, it’s nice not having to experience the cold every winter, but this is contributing to the loss of land, annually. These milder temperatures mean that the ground is not freezing until the middle of the winter which creates an issue. As the brutal winter storms pass through, more damage occurs to softer soil compared to frozen soil.

Thawing

On the opposite side of that, the ground is now thawing a lot earlier in the spring than before. Leaving the unvegetated land exposed to heavy rainstorms and crashing waves that it is not equipped to manage. HNH and the Aurora Research Institute scientists Erika Hille and Celtie Ferguson, have gained an understanding that to reduce the thawing, we must shade the ground from the hot sun. We can ensure this by also adding a layer of hay and/or brush to prevent the sun from thawing the top layer of soil during the winter and spring. (Bowling, 2022)

Strategy

So, what do we do now that we know all of this? Well, we can start by avoiding mowing our lawns right to the crest of the slope, instead leave as much unmanicured vegetation as possible.

By allowing the vegetation to grow, the roots are encouraged to grow deeper, wider, and intertwine. If this resonates with you, feel free to call us (902-543-7416)

Please do not attempt live staking and brush walls along a slope without supervision or proper training.

References

Bowling, E. (2022, March 22). Vegetation mats show potential to slow melting permafrost. Retrieved from NNSL Media: https://www.nnsl.com/news/vegetation-mats-show-potential-to-slow-melting-permafrost/