Monitoring the impacts of the Freiston shore managed realignment
The results of a monitoring scheme assessing the impacts of the Freiston managed realignment scheme on the local environment.
Documents
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Details
This project monitors the management realignment scheme at Freiston, which is one of the largest to be created in the UK. It provides a record of the impacts of the managed realignment scheme on the local environment.
Objectives
This project aims to help coastal managers undertake sustainable flood and coastal defence management activities. It will aid the design and implementation of future realignment schemes and will enable future research on understanding the physical processes of realignment schemes.
Outcome
Two technical reports were created based on the monitoring programme. The reports provide an account of site change following initial breaching based on the measurement of key indicators of development (such as vegetation establishment and accretion rates). This is compared to the existing surrounding saltmarsh.
Future benefits
This research will support future realignment schemes and monitoring by considering the balance between available resources and the need to understand the processes associated with salt marsh establishment. It’s intended that Defra and Environment Agency staff, coastal managers, partners and researchers will use the learning from Freiston as a model for future work.
This project ran from 2001 to 2007 at a cost of £186,480.