kwelderhabitats
Kwelderhabitats is a term used in ecological and urban planning literature to describe the mosaic of habitats that develop along modified shorelines. The concept highlights how quay walls, levees, dredged basins, and other hard-edged structures can host living communities, creating ecological niches in places where natural habitats were altered or removed. The term is not universally standardized and appears mainly in case studies of urban shorelines and restoration projects.
Structural features such as vertical walls, crevices, ledges, intertidal pools, rubble piles, and green façades create
Formation and dynamics: Kwelderhabitats develop through pioneering colonization, followed by accumulation of organic matter and stabilization
Distribution and relevance: They are common along port cities and river estuaries with modified shorelines in
Management: Conservation approaches emphasize maintaining substrate diversity, ensuring intermittent tidal exchange, and designing surfaces that avoid