The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) established a goal to reuse 70% of material from dredging operations by 2030 (Coleman 2022; Spellmon 2023). The Savannah River is frequently dredged ...for navigation by the USACE, which lends a unique opportunity to apply the dredge material to Bird-Long Island, whose shoreline is rapidly changing. This project’s goal is to evaluate the island before the placement of dredge material and provide design recommendations that inform the effects of dredge material on the marsh ecosystem. This thesis conducts a refined Suitability Analysis to determine the most suitable areas on the island for dredge placement. The results from the Suitability Analysis and experimental design materialize in the Design Recommendations that manifest Bird-Long Island into a living laboratory. The results inform the widespread application of thin layer placement and beneficial use projects in areas that require increased elevation and stabilization to be resilient to environmental hazards.
Reimagining infrastructure for a biodiverse future van Rees, Charles B; Hernández-Abrams, Darixa D; Shudtz, Matthew ...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS,
11/2023, Letnik:
120, Številka:
46
Journal Article
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Civil infrastructure will be essential to face the interlinked existential threats of climate change and rising resource demands while ensuring a livable Anthropocene for all. However, conventional ...infrastructure planning largely neglects the contributions and maintenance of Earth's ecological life support systems, which provide irreplaceable services supporting human well-being. The stability and performance of these services depend on biodiversity, but conventional infrastructure practices, narrowly focused on controlling natural capital, have inadvertently degraded biodiversity while perpetuating social inequities. Here, we envision a new infrastructure paradigm wherein biodiversity and ecosystem services are a central objective of civil engineering. In particular, we reimagine infrastructure practice such that 1) ecosystem integrity and species conservation are explicit objectives from the outset of project planning; 2) infrastructure practices integrate biodiversity into diverse project portfolios along a spectrum from conventional to nature-based solutions and natural habitats; 3) ecosystem functions reinforce and enhance the performance and lifespan of infrastructure assets; and 4) civil engineering promotes environmental justice by counteracting legacies of social inequity in infrastructure development and nature conservation. This vision calls for a fundamental rethinking of the standards, practices, and mission of infrastructure development agencies and a broadening of scope for conservation science. We critically examine the legal and professional precedents for this paradigm shift, as well as the moral and economic imperatives for manifesting equitable infrastructure planning that mainstreams biodiversity and nature's benefits to people. Finally, we set an applied research agenda for supporting this vision and highlight financial, professional, and policy pathways for achieving it.
Global environmental factors (e.g., extreme weather, climate action failure, natural disasters, human environmental damage) increasingly threaten coastal communities. Shorelines are often hardened ...(seawalls, bulkheads) to prevent flooding and erosion and protect coastal communities. However, hardened shorelines lead to environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. Developmental pressures that are growing in scale, scope, and complexity necessitate the development of sustainable solutions to work with, rather than against, nature. Such nature-based solutions (NBS) provide protection and improve environmental quality and enhance biodiversity. To further this pressing need into action, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began the Engineering With Nature (EWN) initiative to balance economic, environmental, and social benefits through collaboration with partners and stakeholders. This work shows how engineering practice can be advanced through structured decision-making and landscape architecture renderings that include ecological sciences and NBS into an integrated approach for enhancing biodiversity in coastal marine environments. This integrated approach can be applied when designing new infrastructure projects or modifying or repairing existing infrastructure. To help communicate designs incorporating NBS, drawings, and renderings showcasing EWN concepts can aid decision-making. Our experiences with implementing EWN in practice have revealed that involving landscape architects can play a crucial role in successful collaboration and lead to solutions that protect coastal communities while preserving or enhancing biodiversity.
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•Engineered coastal structures prevent flooding/erosion but can reduce biodiversity.•Nature-based Solutions (NbS) provide flood protection and improve environmental quality.•Resilient landscape architectural design can improve biodiversity with NbS.•Engineering practice can be advanced through structured decision-making.
