CIMA researchers Susana Costas and Katerina Kombiadou, and PhD student Luisa Bon de Sousa, in collaboration with researchers from Spain and Australia, published an article that investigates the initiation and maintenance of feedback processes in coastal dunes by analysing the early development stages of incipient foredunes, combining data on the evolution of the plant cover and communities and dune morphology.
The results quantitatively demonstrate the impact of marine conditions on the distribution of vegetation and sand accumulation during the initial stage of coastal dune formation. They also highlight how vegetation distribution influences the resultant morphological type as the system evolves.
This work shed new light on the complex process of dune initiation, which can benefit future foredune management practices.
The full paper was published as open access and is available through the link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173548.