The Use Of Non-Plastic Materials For Oyster Reef And Shoreline Restoration: Understanding What Is Needed And Where The Field Is Headed

Walters, Linda J.; Roddenberry, Annie; Crandall, Chelsey; Wayles, Jessy; Donnelly, Melinda; Barry, Savanna C.; Clark, Mark W.; Escandell, Olivia; Hansen, Jennifer C.; Laakkonen, Katie; Sacks, Paul E.

doi:10.3390/su14138055

i

The Use Of Non-Plastic Materials For Oyster Reef And Shoreline Restoration: Understanding What Is Needed And Where The Field Is Headed

2022
By Walters, Linda J. ; Roddenberry, Annie ; Crandall, Chelsey ; ...

Details

Journal Title:

Sustainability
Personal Author:

Walters, Linda J. ; Roddenberry, Annie ; Crandall, Chelsey ; Wayles, Jessy ; Donnelly, Melinda ; Barry, Savanna C. ; Clark, Mark W. ; Escandell, Olivia ; Hansen, Jennifer C. ; Laakkonen, Katie ; Sacks, Paul E.
NOAA Program & Office:

Sea Grant
Sea Grant Program:

FLSGP (Florida Sea Grant)
Description:

Oyster and shoreline restoration is occurring around the globe to recover lost ecosystem services. In the state of Florida, USA, dozens of estuarine habitat restoration projects are underway. These projects have traditionally relied on both natural and man-made materials, including plastics. As the impacts of plastics on marine ecosystems are better understood, practitioners are increasingly focused on plastic-free restoration. To better understand this transition, we surveyed Florida restoration practitioners in April 2021 to capture current non-plastic restoration project trends and their status. Our descriptive survey goals were to understand: (1) what non-plastic materials have been tested, (2) trade-offs between plastic and non-plastic materials (e.g., cost, sourcing, volunteer engagement), and (3) the performance of non-plastic materials. Responses indicated that a variety of non-plastic materials are currently being used, including rock, cement-infused jute structures, cement Reef Balls™ (Reef Ball Foundation, USA), BESE-elements®, and metal gabions. Overall, these materials are more expensive and equally or more difficult to install than previously popular plastic-based materials. No “best” non-plastic material emerged from our survey in part because many novel materials have been deployed for under three years. Long-term performance under a variety of abiotic and biotic conditions is thus a future research priority.
Keywords:

Building And Construction Geography, Planning And Development Management, Monitoring, Policy And Law Renewable Energy, Sustainability And The Environment Building And Construction Geography, Planning And Development Management, Monitoring, Policy And Law Renewable Energy, Sustainability And The Environment Building And Construction Geography, Planning And Development Management, Monitoring, Policy And Law
Source:

Sustainability, 14(13), 8055
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3390/su14138055
ISSN:

2071-1050
Format:

PDF
Publisher:

MDPI AG
Document Type:

Journal Article
License:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Rights Information:

CC BY
Compliance:

Submitted
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha256:9383a0dc4327fdfcb2df74232234772a3f7931334b16ab8a5bc29678b4c278cd
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/55412/noaa_55412_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 2.83 MB ]

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