| Abstrakt: |
Worldwide, many tidal basins associated with barrier coasts have infilled over the past millennia due to the combination of sediment supply, wave‐tidal sediment transport, and eco‐engineering effects of vegetation. However, the biogeomorphological interactions between saltmarsh and the morphodynamics of an entire coastal barrier system are poorly understood, especially under sea level rise (SLR). Here, we study the evolution of a barrier coast for combinations of mud availability, presence of vegetation, and SLR. We developed a novel biogeomorphological model of an idealized barrier coast enclosing a tidal basin with sandy‐clayey sediments that was subjected to tides and waves for a century. The morphodynamic Delft3D model was coupled to a vegetation code which accounts for the dynamics of marsh‐type vegetation. Initially, vegetation contributed to reducing the tidal prism while sediment was imported. However, with SLR this trend was reversed and the tidal basins started to export sediment for vegetated runs after about 50–60 years while the unvegetated scenarios continued to infill in pace with the SLR. The sediment export was caused by cascading biomorphodynamic feedback effects triggered by vegetation which modified channel and shoal dynamics. Even under higher mud supply, the SLR resulted in vegetation collapse. The hypsometries, similar to natural systems, showed that vegetated systems converge to an alternative stable state condition. We conclude that the long‐term resilience of the tidal basin associated with sediment infilling under SLR can be reduced by cascading large‐scale effects of vegetation on the morphodynamics of barrier coasts. Plain Language Summary: Tidal basins occur along coasts worldwide and are important environments for nature and human activities. Tidal basins develop under a balance of tides, waves, sea level variations, the availability of sand and mud, and the interactions with vegetation. We know that tidal basins are under pressure due to human interventions and climate change. However, little is known about the long‐term development, in the range of decades–century, of these coastal areas as a whole. Our new comprehensive model produced simulations with the combined effects of sea level rise (SLR), sediment supply, and vegetation in a schematized tidal basin under the effects of both tides and waves over a century. We found that vegetation changes the long‐term morphological development and sediment balance of tidal basins. This allows for a rapid increase of tidal currents and erosion that pose stress for vegetation specially under SLR. This caused a runaway effect of drowning of the tidal basin. The previously vegetated basin underwent a major reconfiguration towards a drowned landscape. These findings show that projects to raise coastal environments by promoting vegetation growth could backfire under fast SLR as vegetation may reduce the tidal basin resilience against SLR. Key Points: Vegetation modifies the local and basin‐scale morphodynamics and alters the equilibrium state and the basin response to sea level rise (SLR)Vegetation limits basin infilling despite sediment supply, reducing resilience to SLR and accelerating drowning compared to unvegetated basinsA multidecadal lag between initial basin drowning and vegetation response may exist, allowing for delayed but rapid saltmarsh loss [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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