Evidence-based Eco-engineering Products Designed for UK Coasts

Hard coastal defences support lower biodiversity than natural rocky shores; ecological enhancement on coastal structures can improve biodiversity. There are a rapidly growing number of eco-engineering products developed specifically for UK coastal engineering applications. This spotlight showcases an evidence-based, BioGeo Ecotile design (300×300 mm) that draws together 14 years of testing in UK waters, into a complex design that mimics the complexity of natural rocky shores and are scalable for real world applications and commercial manufacturing. Results from deployment in Edinburgh show: 1) Ecotiles support higher species richness (F_3,55 = 21.18, p < 0.001) and colonisation than smooth tiles and adjacent rock armour; they were also heavily colonised by known bioprotective species (e.g. seaweeds) that can improve asset resilience 2) Ecotiles supported more mobile species and 3) that the Ecotiles can be deployed in spring-summer– the construction window for most UK coastal engineering projects – without impacting on biodiversity. It is also scalable and readily manufacturable with the Ecotile version for use as retrofits and formliner designs for application to full-scale wall or rock armour units. Further testing of these designs are needed as part of operational coastal engineering projects – we need to partner with your projects to achieve this!