Restoration engineering measures, such as managed realignments or building groins, modify the environmental characteristics of coastal intertidal ecosystems. Creating physical modifications that are beneficial to an intertidal system's ecology necessitates an in-depth understanding of the relationships …

The Eastern Scheldt faces sand starvation as a result of the Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier construction, which has led to a decreased tidal prism and subsequent loss of intertidal areas. These areas are crucial for birds and seals to rest and forage for food. To address this issue, Rijkswaterstaat …

The tidal area in the Eastern Scheldt is decreasing because of sand erosion and sea-level rise. Therefore, Rijkswaterstaat has investigated the possibilities to mitigate the consequences of erosion to maintain the intertidal areas. The height of the Galgeplaat tidal flat, the second-largest tidal flat …

Poster. Tidal flats and salt marshes are disappearing at alarming rates. The Dutch government has initiated a project to reverse this trend in the Western Scheldt estuary by interventions that stimulate the development of low dynamic intertidal zones along its flanks. The construction of new groynes …

Poster. Polder2C’s is an Interreg-funded project that aims at flood resilience building through fieldwork in the Living Lab Hedwige-Prosperpolder (LLHPP). LLHPP consisted of a 3 Km-long levee where various large-scale surveys, superstorm simulations and emergency response exercises took place in the …

Salt marshes are known to be an important habitat type for numerous species of fish. As fish stocks are pressured around the world, providing them with suitable habitat is very important. Through managed realignments or tidal restoration, intertidal salt marshes are created or restored. Which fish use …

The natural value of Dutch sandy beaches has been declining for decades. These relatively unstable, low nutritious, wave-washed environments lack the primary producers that represent the base of the food web. Thus, the sandy beach food web relies almost entirely on nutrient influx of other systems. Beside …

This study aims to provide an update of the erosion rate of the intertidal flats and its subareas in the Eastern Scheldt to generate new predictions for designing and planning sand nourishment on the intertidal flats. Because of the suggestions of a changed rate of erosion in the Eastern Scheldt, the …

Coastal soft-sediment habitats are some of the most valued ecosystems due to their high productivity, sustaining coastal food webs. However, coastal soft-sediment habitats are under pressure due to human activity and sea level rise. To preserve or restore soft-sediment habitats different management strategies …

Ecosystem engineering research has recently demonstrated the fundamental importance of non-trophic interactions for food-web structure. Particularly, by creating benign conditions in stressful environments, ecosystem engineers create hot beds of elevated levels of recruitment, growth, and survival of …