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Abstract

Living shorelines encompass a range of nature-based alternatives to traditional coastal armoring structures. In addition to shoreline stabilization and protection, living shorelines are intended to meet conservation goals such as restoring habitat, delivering ecosystem services, and promoting ecological resilience to climate change. While early results have been promising, further monitoring is needed to better understand and evaluate the performance of living shorelines across a range of designs and environmental contexts, thereby informing coastal management. Nature-based shoreline protection is relatively new in Georgia, USA, where in 2015 the state’s fourth living shoreline was constructed of oyster shell and native plants on Lawrence Creek at Cannon’s Point Preserve, St. Simons Island. To assess ecological impacts of the living shoreline, undergraduate students conducted annual surveys of the oyster reef and marsh-edge plant community, spanning a seven-year period that included five years post-installation. Despite a series of tropical cyclones, the living shoreline successfully enhanced fringing salt marsh habitat occupied by the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) and smooth cordgrass (Sporobolus alterniflorus), which increased in local density and spatial coverage. These foundation species are known to stabilize tidal creek banks, improve water quality, buffer uplands from storms, and provide nursery, refuge, and foraging sites for nekton. Moreover, the Lawrence Creek living shoreline has fostered experiential learning by students and served as a popular demonstration site for coastal managers, contractors, and property owners, thus raising public awareness and developing regional capacity to support broader utilization of living shorelines as a tool for coastal protection and conservation.

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