Mangroves might just be the unlikely heroes in the battle against coastal erosion, researchers say.
Using a new modelling system, scientists from the Universities of Auckland, Waikato and Southampton, in the UK, have found the plants act as a buffer for vulnerable estuaries and river deltas being eroded by rising sea levels.
Published in Proceedings of the Royal Society A, the study found water areas with no mangroves widened and expanded significantly faster inland than those filled with the plants.
The mangroves increased the coasts' resistance to tides by stabilising the ground in which they grow and reducing the drag of waves.
"These types of ecomorphodynamic studies are urgently needed because tidal ecosystems are of great economic and ecological value, but also extremely vulnerable to environmental changes, including climate change impacts," the University of Southampton's Barend van Maanen said.
The mathematical basis of the study meant the researchers were able to map the effect of mangroves' presence on coastal land over a period of 1000 years to more clearly see the full impact.
Previous studies have found mangroves serve other important functions such as carbon storage, acting as eco-systems and protecting against coastal hazards.
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