Role of stochastic forcing in coastal dune vegetation

The relevance and fragility of coastal dune systems are widely recognized. Various conceptual and numerical models have been formulated so far to cope with the threats that affect coastal systems worldwide. These models acknowledge the fundamental influence of vegetation in controlling coastal dunes stability but usually disregard some of the factors affecting coastal dynamics, such as the randomness of the driving forces. In agreement with these observations, a new model for the coastal dune vegetation is here briefly described, and one simplified version is applied to estimate the natural beach width.