We call Intertidal Biogeomorphic Ecosystem to habitats with vegetation that occurs on the foreshore. This may include mangroves, saltmarshes, seagrasses and rooted macrophytes. This project focus specifically in saltmarshes and seagrasses.

Figure: Example of typical foreshore zonation of biogeomorphic ecosystems. This figure illustrates the case of the Natural Park of Cadiz Bay, including, from top to bottom, the horizons of saltmarshes (Sarcocornia spp., Spartina maritima), seagrasses (Zostera noltei, Cymodocea nodosa) and rooted macroalgae (Caulerpa prolifera). LAT: Lowest astronomical tide, MSL: Mean sea level (m).

Flood risks is one of the most pressing hazards facing European coastal areas. Sea level rise, climate change and increasing coastal populations, intensify this hazard, demanding know-to-how approaches towards coastal management.

Vegetated foreshores naturally defend against coastal flooding and erosion and provides an efficient system to trap blue carbon in the long-term. This means that conserving and restoring natural coastal ecosystems can play an important role in reducing flood risks and mitigating climate change.

Unfortunately, we still need to quantify the processes involved in changes in elevation of biogeomorphic ecosystems to model answers to important questions like are our saltmarshes drowning?

iBESBLUE is a multi-disciplinary project that aims to provide the information needed to answer these questions. Using a combination of high-resolution remote sensing and field data from foreshores in Cadiz Bay Natural Park, iBESBLUE will quantify the main biogeomorphic processes in the different habitats distributed along the intertidal gradient and will develop the first integral approximation of temperate muddy foreshores facing future climate change scenarios.

All this know-how will be openly shared with scientists and managers to increase knowledge and improve coastal management, and a significant effort will be made to disseminate to society to raise awareness and value coastal biogeomorphological systems.