From debris to defence: reclaiming driftwood's role on our shores

As climate change intensifies storm frequency and sea-level rise, global shorelines face increasing rates of erosion, threatening coastal ecosystems such as saltmarshes. Although saltmarshes are critical global assets for carbon sequestration and coastal defence, they are increasingly vulnerable to hydrodynamic stress. Conventional coastal engineering strategies to reduce erosion and maintain our coastal ecosystems often require significant capital and resource-intensive maintenance, driving an urgent need for lower-cost, nature-based solutions (NbS).  

Driftwood, or Large Woody Debris (LWD), is a naturally occurring resource that is frequently removed from many coastal systems, despite its ecological benefits. While the use of LWD for sediment stabilisation and dune restoration has been documented in areas of Canada and New Zealand, many projects continue to face high failure rates. A significant disconnect exists between high-level policy support for these NbS and the lack of technical guidelines to ensure their success. Consequently, the potential for anchored LWD to serve as a permanent intervention in saltmarsh environments remains under-researched.

This project seeks to address the current lack of technical guidelines and the high rate of previous project failures by investigating the viability of anchored LWD as an NbS and restoration strategy. By evaluating the impact of these structures on morphodynamics and sediment stability, this research aims to standardise the application of anchored LWD, offering a scalable, cost-effective strategy to utilise debris as coastal defence.