However, large quantities of woody debris in coastal waters can pose significant hazards to communities, infrastructure, navigation and ecosystems. There is growing interest in the role that woody debris can play in nature-based coastal engineering solutions. Logs and driftwood play a vital role in coastal and global ecosystems, and can provide valuable data to support studies of oceanography, geomorphology, ecology, history and archaeology.
Woody debris is ubiquitous in coastal waters, and on shorelines proximate to forested regions.
