The intensity of major storm events generated within the Atlantic Basin is projected to rise with the warming of the oceans, which is likely to exacerbate coastal erosion. Nature-based flood defence has been proposed as a sustainable and effective solution to protect coastlines. However, the ability of natural ecosystems to withstand major storms like tropical hurricanes has yet to be thoroughly tested. Seagrass meadows both stabilise sediment and attenuate waves, providing effective coastal protection services for sandy beaches. To examine the tolerance of Caribbean seagrass meadows to extreme storm events, and to investigate the extent of protection they deliver to beaches, we employed a combination of field surveys, biomechanical measurements and wave modelling simulations. Field surveys of seagrass meadows before and after a direct hit by the category 5 Hurricane Irma documented that established seagrass meadows of Thalassia testudinum remained unaltered after the extreme storm event. The flexible leaves and thalli of seagrass and calcifying macroalgae inhabiting the meadows were shown to sustain the wave forces that they are likely to experience during hurricanes. In addition, the seagrass canopy and the complex biogeomorphic landscape built by the seagrass meadows combine to significantly dissipate extreme wave forces, ensuring that erosion is minimised within sandy beach foreshores. The persistence of the Caribbean seagrass meadows and their coastal protection services during extreme storm events ensures that a stable coastal ecosystem and beach foreshore is maintained in tropical regions.

预计随着海洋变暖，大西洋盆地内发生的重大风暴事件的强度将增加，这可能加剧海岸侵蚀。已经提出了基于自然的洪水防御作为保护海岸线的可持续和有效的解决方案。但是，自然生态系统抵御热带飓风等主要风暴的能力尚未得到充分测试。海草草甸能够稳定沉积物并减弱海浪，为沙滩提供有效的海岸保护服务。为了检查加勒比海草草甸对极端风暴事件的耐受性，并调查它们对海滩的保护程度，我们采用了实地调查，生物力学测量和海浪模拟模拟的组合。极端风暴事件发生后，地中海藻睾丸保持不变。海草的柔性叶片和藻类以及栖息在草地上的钙化大型藻类被证明可以承受飓风期间可能经历的波浪力。此外，海草冠层和由海草草甸建造的复杂生物地貌景观相结合，可以极大地消散极端波浪力，从而确保在沙滩前滨地区将侵蚀最小化。加勒比海草草甸的持久性及其在极端风暴事件中的海岸保护服务确保了热带地区保持稳定的海岸生态系统和海滩前滨。