Extensive Sand Dune Loss Threatens California Coast
A new study reveals that California's coastal sand dunes have shrunk by nearly a third over the past century due to urban development, agriculture, and invasive species. The remaining dunes are highly fragmented and degraded, threatening their critical role as natural buffers against sea-level rise and storm surges.
Background
- California's coastal sand dunes have declined dramatically — by 33% in Southern California and 19% in Central California — due to urban development, agriculture, and vegetation overgrowth, with dune systems completely gone in some areas like Long Beach and Orange County.
- This matters because dunes act as natural storm barriers, absorbing wave energy during extreme weather; losing them leaves coastal communities and infrastructure more vulnerable to flooding and erosion as sea levels rise.
- The article references research quantifying this loss, but readers may not know that dunes have been squeezed between coastal development on one side and rising seas on the other, with invasive plants also altering dune ecosystems by trapping sand that would otherwise move naturally.