Habitat change on Scotland’s coasts

1. Scotland has approximately 71% of Britain’s dunes (including machair) by area, 60% of sea cliff by length, 13% of saltmarsh by area and less than 5% of shingle by length. Information on lagoons is currently deficient.<p></p> 2. Coasts are dynamic habitats where change is inevitable. However, difficulties associated with establishing baseline data in terms of either length or area mean that any meaningful measurement of coastal change is challenging.<p></p> 3. We explore some of the issues and present a synopsis of the available information on key coastal habitats. We also consider recent drivers of coastal change: sea level rise; sediment deficit and human intervention in coastal systems.<p></p> 4. We argue that the need to monitor coastal change is a problem that must be addressed strategically, not only in respect of coastal habitats, but also in respect of the immense investment in settlement and infrastructure on Scotland’s coasts.<p></p&gt