Neptune, NJ - Coastal communities around the world are adding a tropical touch to coastal defenses thanks to the humble coconut.
From the sands of the Jersey Shore to the Indonesian archipelago, coconut fiber, known as coir, is being introduced into beach protection projects.
Coconut husk stalks, known as coirs, lay on the banks of the Shark River in Neptune, New Jersey, on January 31, where the American Coastal Society was conducting a beach restoration project involving coconuts.
Combined with other commonly used systems, coconut material is seen as an affordable, affordable and durable alternative. This is especially true in developing countries. But the material is also popular in wealthy countries, where it is seen as an important part of so-called "living beaches", which use natural materials of wood, steel or rigid concrete barriers.
One such project is being installed in Neptune, New Jersey, about one mile from the ocean on the Shark River. Using a mix of federal grants and local funding, the US Coastal Conservancy is moving forward with a $1.3 million project that will significantly reduce severe shoreline erosion in areas already damaged by Superstorm Sandy. in 2012.
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Tim Dillingham, right, of the American Coastal Company and Captain Al Mojeski examine coconut trunks along the Shark River on Jan. 31 in Neptune, New Jersey.
"We are always looking for ways to reduce wave energy by protecting shorelines and whenever we can, we like to use nature-based solutions," said Tim Dillingham, the group's chief executive. "These materials are readily available, especially in developing countries, and are relatively inexpensive compared to stronger materials."
Coir is made from coconut shell fibers and cut into mats or logs, often held together with netting. Scored or torn fishing nets may be included in growing areas.
Its flexibility allows it to be shaped and shaped as needed on uneven palm areas which are styled with wooden grooves.
Coconut coir logs are known as coir
Coconut based materials decompose over time by design. But before that happens, it is sometimes planted with riparian plants and grasses, or these plants are placed in holes that can be inserted into plant stubs.
The logs hold the plants in place as they take root and grow, eventually breaking the plants down and settling around them and stabilizing the shoreline.
Cocoa coir is used worldwide for erosion control projects.
One is in Boston, where Northeastern University assistant professor Julia Hopkins uses coconut fiber, wood chips and other materials to make floating mats to moderate wave energy and encourage the growth of aquatic plants. The pilot program has four such mats on waterways around Boston. Hopkins envisioned a network of hundreds or even thousands of mats connected together to protect a larger area.
He was satisfied with what he had seen so far.
"Coconut coir is an organic material, the price is relatively cheap and can be washed," he said. "It's actually recycling something that should be thrown away."
Two projects in East Providence, Rhode Island are using coconut logs in 2020, and a 2,400-foot stretch of shoreline in New York's Jamaican Bay that eroded during Superstorm Sandy is repaired in 2021 with projects that also include coconut logs.
Cape Cod, Massachusetts, undertook a similar project last year, and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control paid to help landlords, homeowners' associations, and others install life banks made of materials that may include coconut.
A project in Austin, Texas is stabilizing part of the Lake Austin shoreline. Observations from 2009 to 2014 show reduced erosion along the coast and growth of healthy native vegetation.
Indonesia is the world's largest producer of coconuts, with more than 17 million tons in 2021. Scientists from the Bandung Institute of Technology's oceanography program used coconut shell material to build a dam in Karanjaladri village in Pangandaran province in 2018.
Residents of Diogo Island in Senegal used wooden structures, palm leaves and sticks to restore eroded beach areas.
However, it doesn't always work.
In 2016, the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown, Massachusetts, placed him in the Sengecontact basin at Martha's Vineyard, where several feet of salt marsh had eroded in previous years. While this helps reduce erosion for a time, the shell doesn't last very long due to the strong wave action.
"It has erupted many times," said Susan Bellincampi, the sanctuary's director. “We had it installed for several years and decided not to install it again.
"This project is very exciting in terms of what we want to do and how we adapt it," he said. "It's not for every page. It has to be location specific. It works in some countries; It doesn't work in all countries."
Similarly, Chapel Island in Nova Scotia, Canada recently used coconut plinths and logs damaged by extreme weather conditions.
Another Canadian site, Lac des Bachers, a lake on Montreal's Nance Island, uses coconut mats to control the growth of invasive reeds along the shore.
In New Jersey, a few miles south of the music hotbed of Asbury Park, trucks of sand combine with tidal sediments to create a beach much wider than before.
"Fiddler crabs are hibernating right now under your feet," said Capt. Al Mojeski, a rehabilitation specialist at the Littoral Society. "They will be happy with this new habitat."
Asian goldfish aren't the only aquatic invaders to worry about. Here's another 14
Asian swamp eel
Native to Asia.
Date of entry to the United States. According to invasivespeciesinfo.gov, they were discovered in the early 1900's (Hawaii); Mid 1990s (USA)
Import method. Imported as a food source and for the aquarium trade.
Affect. compete with native species.
big goldfish
Native to China.
US Release Date: 1973
Import method: Imported for aquaculture and phytoplankton control.
Influence. Brave is unknown, but populations of native species that depend on plankton for food may be declining, including all larval fish, some adults, and native oysters.
black goldfish
Native to Asia.
US introduction date: early 1970s.
Import method. First introduced as a "pollutant" in imported goldfish stocks; It was later introduced as a fish feed and biological control agent.
Influence. local aquatic communities feed and reduce populations of native mussels and snails, many of which are considered threatened or endangered.
frog
Native to the Central and Eastern United States
US introduction date. First introduced in the western United States in the early 1900's.
Entry method: Accidental entry during trout storage; Also introduced through the aquarium trade and sports and pest control.
Affect. compete with and prey on native species
sugarcane
Homeland: South America, Central America, Mexico and remote Texas
US introduction date. First introduced in Florida in 1936.
Input pathway: Originally introduced to control sugarcane pests; It has been accidentally and intentionally released by animal importers, zoos and laboratories.
Consequences: Predation and competition with native species; Very toxic to predators (including pets).
Eurasian ruff
Native to Northern Europe and Asia.
US Release Date: 1986
Recognition method: preferably through ballast water.
Affect. compete with and prey on native species
flat catfish
Location: Mississippi and Gulf Drainage.
US introduction date. It has been filled with non-native waters since 1950.
Investment method: Deliberate accumulation in rivers and reservoirs.
Affect. native species predators
eat fish
Native to the Western Pacific.
United States filing date. In 1980
Tool - Aquarium Trading.
The consequences. native species predators; It has poisonous thorns
Buy the Nile
Place of birth: Africa.
US launch date: August 1975.
Input type: intentionally introduced to Texas for sport fishing.
Affect. introduced to Lake Victoria (Africa) in 1954, where it exterminated 200 native fish species through predation and competition for food. In Texas, there are no negative impacts as long as the species is under control
Nutria
Native to South America.
Date of entry to the US. The first confirmed populations were introduced in the 1930s.
Inserts mean they are inserted for wool production.
The consequences. damage vegetation and destroy wetland habitat
Paku is a warrior
Native to South America.
Date of import to the US. Since the 1960s, isolated samples have been taken, but there is no established breeding population in the United States.
Recognition method: Possible through releasing the aquarium or hatchery.
Effects: environmental effects not known
Cursor with red ears
Origin: Mississippi River Drainage.
US introduction date. First released in the 1930's.
Presentation tool. the pet is released and runs away.
Affect. compete with native turtle species
Sea lamp
Derived from the Atlantic Ocean.
Date of entry to the US. First discovered in Lake Ontario in 1835 (although its origin in Lake Ontario is disputed); It was first discovered in 1921 in Lake Erie.
Entrance: empties into the Great Lakes via the Welland Channel.
Affect. native species predators
Round gobies
Native to Eurasia.
Date of entry to the United States. First discovered in 1990.
Recognition method: ballast water.
Affect. compete with and prey on native species
