Saltmarsh Restoration on the River Adur initiated by the Environment Agency
Coastal ecosystems including saltmarshes provide a wide range of ecosystem services including flood defence, carbon sequestration and storage and support high biodiversity including breeding and migratory birds and commercially important juvenile fish. However, these ecosystems are under threat from climate change, urban expansion and development. The Environment Agency have initiated a restoration scheme along the River Adur at Shoreham in Southern England, and Dr Raymond Ward is leading a project with centre members Dr Niall Burnside and Professor Chris Joyce, to develop new techniques for the Environment Agency to monitor the sedimentary and ecological development of coastal wetland restoration schemes using drones, satellite and field data.