Eco-Environmental Impact Assessment of Pre-Leisure Beach Nourishment on the Benthic Invertebrate Community at Anping Coast
Resource
CHINA OCEAN ENGINEERING, 25(2), 215-236
Journal
China Ocean Engineering
Journal Volume
25
Journal Issue
2
Pages
215-236
Date Issued
2011
Date
2011
Author(s)
Abstract
In recent years, owing to global warming and the rising sea levels, beach nourishment and groin building have been increasingly employed to protect coastal land from shoreline erosion. These actions may degrade beach habitats and reduce biomass and invertebrate density at sites where they were employed. We conducted an eco-environmental evaluation at the Anping artificial beach-nourishment project area. At this site, sand piles within a semi-enclosed spur groin have been enforced by use of eco-engineering concepts since 2003. Four sampling sites were monitored during the study period from July 2002 to September 2008. The environmental impact assessment and biological investigations that we conducted are presented here. The results from this study indicate that both biotic (number of species, number of individual organisms, and Shannon-Wiener diversity) and abiotic parameters (suspended solids, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, dissolved inorganic phosphorus, total phosphorus, total organic carbon, median diameter, and water content) showed significant differences before and after beach engineering construction. Biological conditions became worse in the beginning stages of the engineering but improved after the restoration work completion. This study reveals that the composition of benthic invertebrates changed over the study period, and two groups of organisms, Bivalvia and Gastropoda, seemed to be particularly suitable to this habitat after the semi-enclosed artificial structures completion. © 2011 Chinese Ocean Engineering Society and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
Subjects
beach nourishment; benthic invertebrate; eco-engineering; ecological restoration; spur groin
Other Subjects
Beach nourishment; Benthic invertebrates; Eco-engineering; ecological restoration; spur groin; Animals; Beaches; Biochemical oxygen demand; Dissolved oxygen; Ecosystems; Environmental impact; Global warming; Jetties; Organic carbon; Phosphorus; Restoration; Sea level; Shore protection; Water content; Environmental impact assessments
Type
journal article