Reconnecting drained coastal land to the tide, and what it takes to monitor how a saltmarsh re-establishes over time.
Context
Coastal land drained long ago for farming can sometimes be reconnected to the tide, letting saltmarsh return.
Step 0101
Survey ground levels, sediment and the condition of existing sea defences, and model how the tide would move across the site.
Step 0202
Breach or realign the defences so tidal water returns in a controlled way, with new banks where neighbouring land needs protecting.
Step 0303
Follow vegetation, sediment and wildlife as the marsh develops, a process measured in years rather than months.
Considerations
Agreements with landowners and neighbouring communities.
Flood risk to nearby land, which has to be modelled before any change.
Long monitoring periods before the outcome is clear.
How projects are sourced and reviewed is set out in our methodology.
Solutions and systems
Solution
Bringing water back to drained peat and coastal land so these habitats can recover and hold carbon again.
Drains are blocked or sea defences realigned, and the land is left to return to bog, fen or saltmarsh.
System
Forests, wetlands, oceans and soils: the living systems that store carbon, regulate climate and support life.
Ecosystems, forests and biodiversity
System
Securing, treating and reusing water as rainfall patterns shift and demand from cities, farms and industry grows.
Water security, treatment and desalination
Quick answers about the platform and its content.
The context, the work step by step, what it has to weigh up, and the solutions and systems it connects.
To show how approaches come together in practice across different systems, from restoring land to electrifying transport.
Every project links to the solutions it puts to use and the systems it touches, each with its own page.
Yes. Tell us about it through the contact page, and we can look at documenting it with its evidence.