Knutson said wild storms and king tides were events that were predicted to become more common due to both rising sea levels and increasing storm intensity as a result of climate change.
"After a big storm lots of sand can be lost from our dunes in a process called erosion. But when the weather settles down and weather patterns change, sand usually builds back up by a process called accretion.
"This is when smaller waves push sand back onto the beach and gentle winds then push sand into the dune system where it gets trapped by our native sand dune plants which rebuilds the sand dune system," he said.
Knutson said a healthy frontal dune, those planted with native grasses (spinifex) and sedges (pingao), also absorbed energy from storm events and reduced damage to both dunes and the infrastructure sitting behind.
They are also able to regrow as they have long, deep root systems when conditions become more favourable, he said.
"So, though it may look like some of our dunes are in danger at the moment we need to remember this is a natural process and they do regenerate themselves over time."
Knutson said if people were concerned about the dunes, the best thing they could do for them was not walk over and trample the fragile native plants.
Pingao and spinifex can grow in sand and survive summer droughts and big waves but trampling over them will kill them, he said.
- Coast Care Bay of Plenty is a coastal restoration programme run in close partnership with local communities, care groups and schools alongside Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Tauranga City Council, Whakatane District Council, Western Bay of Plenty, Opotiki District Council and the Department of Conservation, that aims to restore and protect the sand dunes along our Bay of Plenty beaches.
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