Sandy shore ecosystem services, ecological infrastructure, and bundles: New insights and perspectives

Sandy shores are highly regarded as sites for recreation, places to play in the sun, sea, and sand. In contrast, very little attention is given to beaches as ecosystems that support diverse biological communities, and comprise essential ecological infrastructure that provides numerous ecosystem services to people over and above recreation. Therefore, we aimed to comprehensively list and classify all ecosystem services provided by sandy shores based on an internationally accepted classification, compare service delivery by each component of the littoral active zone (LAZ: foredunes, beach and surf zone), and identify ecosystem service bundles for sandy shores for the first time. We identified and described all ecosystem services in the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES, version 5.1) that apply to sandy shores. There were 56 (of 84, 67 %) of these services, including Biotic and Abiotic Provisioning (n = 16 of 39; 41 %), Regulation and Maintenance (n = 25 of 30; 83 %), and Cultural (n = 15 of 15; 100 %) services. All components of the LAZ are important for delivering services. Using multivariate statistics, we identified 11 ecosystem service bundles, which are mainly underpinned by the multifunctionality of the ecological infrastructure. We discuss three main threats to ecosystem service supply: the myriad of pressures these ecosystems face; discrepancies in service supply and demand; and limited ocean literacy regarding sandy shores. We propose actions to address these threats, including key areas for future research. Finally, we highlight the key role of management and governance in maintaining sustainable flows of ecosystem services and their benefits, and emphasize the importance of adaptive ecosystem-based management across the LAZ.