近日，荷兰瓦赫宁根大学与研究院Pim W. J. M. Willemsen团队报道了极端风暴期间盐沼对波浪衰减的贡献。2026年10月21日出版的《自然》杂志发表了这项成果。

盐沼通过其抬升的沼泽平台和地上植被消减风浪，从而保护海岸线。要确信这种服务在气候变化下能够持续存在，就需要了解极端风暴如何损害平台和植被；然而，目前仍缺乏对极端事件下盐沼–波浪相互作用的全面、定量认识。

研究组开展了一项独特实验：将完整的盐沼移植到世界上最大的波浪水槽之一，随后使其暴露于逐渐增高的波浪，显著波高最高达2 m。结果发现，尽管累积暴露于波浪，沼泽基质仍能以可忽略的侵蚀得以保持。相比之下，植被在持续波浪暴露过程中逐渐受损，从而逐渐降低与植被相关的消浪作用。

结果表明，植被在低能盐沼海岸（波高至多1 m）消浪最有效，消减超过10%（最高达50%），而在高能盐沼海岸（波高>1 m），消减不超过10%。该全球评估支持水槽实验所得出的低能和高能条件之间的区分。研究结果表明，沼泽平台在极端波浪事件下保持稳定，而沼泽植被的显著消浪作用仅限于低能盐沼海岸。

附：英文原文

Title: The contribution of salt marshes to wave attenuation during extreme storms

Author: Willemsen, Pim W. J. M., Mason, Victoria G., Zelst, Vincent van, van Bergeijk, Vera M., Breteler, Mark Klein, Muller, Jos R. M., Dermentzoglou, Dimitrios, Vouziouris, Akis, van Veelen, Thomas J., Dzimballa, S., Wijnberg, Kathelijne M., Hoitink, Antonius J. F., Buring, Paul, Paul, Maike, Antonini, Alessandro, Bouma, Tjeerd J., Borsje, Bas W.

Issue&Volume: 2026-10-21

Abstract: Salt marshes protect coastlines by attenuating wind waves with their elevated marsh platform and above-ground vegetation1. Confidence in the persistence of this service under a changing climate requires knowledge on how extreme storms damage the platform and vegetation; however, a comprehensive, quantified understanding of salt marsh–wave interactions under extreme events is lacking. A unique experiment was conducted by transferring intact salt marsh to one of the world’s largest wave flumes, and subsequently exposing it to increasingly higher waves that reach up to 2m significant wave height. We show that marsh substrates can persist with negligible erosion, despite cumulative wave exposure. By contrast, the vegetation was progressively damaged during continued wave exposure, gradually reducing vegetation-related wave attenuation. Results emphasize that vegetation was most effective in attenuating waves at low-energy marsh coasts (up to 1m), where attenuation exceeded 10% (up to 50%), whereas attenuation at high-energy marsh coasts (wave height>1m) does not exceed 10%. Our global assessment supports the differentiation between low- and high-energetic conditions resulting from the flume experiment. Our results suggest that the marsh platform remains stable under extreme wave events and that substantial wave attenuation by marsh vegetation is limited to low-energy marsh coasts.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-11145-8

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-11145-8