The role of sand dunes in our coastal ecosystem
When you visit our Alabama beaches, you may notice signs that prohibit walking on sand dunes or damaging the sea oats. There’s a reason we protect those dunes. Our coast and beaches need them. Why? Glad you asked. Those hills of sand act as a natural barrier to protect inland areas against storms and waves. When these barriers are damaged, high surf and strong waves brought on by storms are free to flow farther inland, potentially bringing greater devastation to [...]