300 Years of Degradation in Wales Estuaries and Coasts

Unsworth, Richard; Bullimore, Blaise; Cullen-Unsworth, Leanne; H., Benjamin L.

doi:10.1111/1477-8947.70063

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300 Years of Degradation in Wales Estuaries and Coasts

Richard Unsworth

, Blaise Bullimore, Leanne Cullen-Unsworth, Benjamin L. H. Jones

Natural Resources Forum

Swansea University Authors: Richard Unsworth , Leanne Cullen-Unsworth

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DOI (Published version): 10.1111/1477-8947.70063

Abstract

The world's oceans are in a severe state of degradation, yet our understanding of that degradation is often based on changes observed only in the past 20–50 years. This narrow view leads to marine conservation efforts that aim to preserve already degraded ecosystems, shaped by shifted ecologica...

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Published in:	Natural Resources Forum
ISSN:	0165-0203 1477-8947
Published:	Wiley 2026
Online Access:	Check full text
URI:	https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71782

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last_indexed	2026-05-02T05:25:22Z
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This narrow view leads to marine conservation efforts that aim to preserve already degraded ecosystems, shaped by shifted ecological baselines. Historical ecology offers a broader perspective by examining past environments and biodiversity. In this study, we analyse historical records including maps, reports, and written accounts to explore the transformation of estuarine and coastal environments in Wales, a key centre of the Industrial Revolution. Our findings reveal widespread historical modification: 33 of the 42 Welsh estuaries studied show major alterations, including land reclamation, embankment construction, and channel rerouting. Some estuaries were completely erased, and islands no longer separate from the mainland. The resulting disruption of sediment dynamics, water quality, and habitat complexity has had long-term impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. We hypothesise these changes led to the widespread loss of critical habitats such as salt marshes, oyster beds and seagrass meadows, which support marine biodiversity and ecosystem health. Wales is only at the start of a habitat restoration journey, and the nation can learn from other regions of the world where restoration has successfully improved ecosystem function. But Wales faces a legacy of degradation with few, if any, ‘low-impact’ baselines remaining. We argue that current restoration efforts in Wales should not aim to return ecosystems to an imagined baseline or historical state. Instead, restoration should be reimagined with modern goals focusing on enhancing biodiversity, ecosystem resilience, and human well-being through the lens of a changing climate. Wales' estuarine environments, though heavily modified, present unique opportunities. 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spelling	2026-05-01T10:28:14.3768229 v2 71782 2026-04-22 300 Years of Degradation in Wales Estuaries and Coasts b0f33acd13a3ab541cf2aaea27f4fc2f 0000-0003-0036-9724 Richard Unsworth Richard Unsworth true false 5b01e88900793e6d570bc91bc6e985eb Leanne Cullen-Unsworth Leanne Cullen-Unsworth true false 2026-04-22 BGPS The world's oceans are in a severe state of degradation, yet our understanding of that degradation is often based on changes observed only in the past 20–50 years. This narrow view leads to marine conservation efforts that aim to preserve already degraded ecosystems, shaped by shifted ecological baselines. Historical ecology offers a broader perspective by examining past environments and biodiversity. In this study, we analyse historical records including maps, reports, and written accounts to explore the transformation of estuarine and coastal environments in Wales, a key centre of the Industrial Revolution. Our findings reveal widespread historical modification: 33 of the 42 Welsh estuaries studied show major alterations, including land reclamation, embankment construction, and channel rerouting. Some estuaries were completely erased, and islands no longer separate from the mainland. The resulting disruption of sediment dynamics, water quality, and habitat complexity has had long-term impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. We hypothesise these changes led to the widespread loss of critical habitats such as salt marshes, oyster beds and seagrass meadows, which support marine biodiversity and ecosystem health. Wales is only at the start of a habitat restoration journey, and the nation can learn from other regions of the world where restoration has successfully improved ecosystem function. But Wales faces a legacy of degradation with few, if any, ‘low-impact’ baselines remaining. We argue that current restoration efforts in Wales should not aim to return ecosystems to an imagined baseline or historical state. Instead, restoration should be reimagined with modern goals focusing on enhancing biodiversity, ecosystem resilience, and human well-being through the lens of a changing climate. Wales' estuarine environments, though heavily modified, present unique opportunities. By recognising the true extent of historical change, we can move beyond outdated notions of conservation and embrace degraded ecosystems as foundations for future recovery. Journal Article Natural Resources Forum 0 Wiley 0165-0203 1477-8947 28 4 2026 2026-04-28 10.1111/1477-8947.70063 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) Swansea University 2026-05-01T10:28:14.3768229 2026-04-22T16:05:08.4628534 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences Richard Unsworth 0000-0003-0036-9724 1 Blaise Bullimore 2 Leanne Cullen-Unsworth 3 Benjamin L. H. Jones 0000-0002-6058-9692 4 71782__36657__5131e820a2804a0cacc9422125e9c7a0.pdf 71782.VOR.pdf 2026-05-01T10:25:11.6023820 Output 1930004 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2026 The Author(s). Natural Resources Forum published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of United Nations. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title	300 Years of Degradation in Wales Estuaries and Coasts
spellingShingle	300 Years of Degradation in Wales Estuaries and Coasts Richard Unsworth Leanne Cullen-Unsworth
title_short	300 Years of Degradation in Wales Estuaries and Coasts
title_full	300 Years of Degradation in Wales Estuaries and Coasts
title_fullStr	300 Years of Degradation in Wales Estuaries and Coasts
title_full_unstemmed	300 Years of Degradation in Wales Estuaries and Coasts
title_sort	300 Years of Degradation in Wales Estuaries and Coasts
author_id_str_mv	b0f33acd13a3ab541cf2aaea27f4fc2f 5b01e88900793e6d570bc91bc6e985eb
author_id_fullname_str_mv	b0f33acd13a3ab541cf2aaea27f4fc2f_*_Richard Unsworth 5b01e88900793e6d570bc91bc6e985eb_*_Leanne Cullen-Unsworth
author	Richard Unsworth Leanne Cullen-Unsworth
author2	Richard Unsworth Blaise Bullimore Leanne Cullen-Unsworth Benjamin L. H. Jones
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description	The world's oceans are in a severe state of degradation, yet our understanding of that degradation is often based on changes observed only in the past 20–50 years. This narrow view leads to marine conservation efforts that aim to preserve already degraded ecosystems, shaped by shifted ecological baselines. Historical ecology offers a broader perspective by examining past environments and biodiversity. In this study, we analyse historical records including maps, reports, and written accounts to explore the transformation of estuarine and coastal environments in Wales, a key centre of the Industrial Revolution. Our findings reveal widespread historical modification: 33 of the 42 Welsh estuaries studied show major alterations, including land reclamation, embankment construction, and channel rerouting. Some estuaries were completely erased, and islands no longer separate from the mainland. The resulting disruption of sediment dynamics, water quality, and habitat complexity has had long-term impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. We hypothesise these changes led to the widespread loss of critical habitats such as salt marshes, oyster beds and seagrass meadows, which support marine biodiversity and ecosystem health. Wales is only at the start of a habitat restoration journey, and the nation can learn from other regions of the world where restoration has successfully improved ecosystem function. But Wales faces a legacy of degradation with few, if any, ‘low-impact’ baselines remaining. We argue that current restoration efforts in Wales should not aim to return ecosystems to an imagined baseline or historical state. Instead, restoration should be reimagined with modern goals focusing on enhancing biodiversity, ecosystem resilience, and human well-being through the lens of a changing climate. Wales' estuarine environments, though heavily modified, present unique opportunities. By recognising the true extent of historical change, we can move beyond outdated notions of conservation and embrace degraded ecosystems as foundations for future recovery.
published_date	2026-04-28T07:57:02Z
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300 Years of Degradation in Wales Estuaries and Coasts

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