Impacts of Changing Beach and Dune Configurations on Communities: A Case Study of the Atlantic Coast of East Central Florida

Barrier islands along Florida’s Atlantic coast are increasingly threatened by sea-level rise, intensified hurricanes, shoreline armoring, and rapid coastal development. This study examined how beach and dune configurations varied in relation to coastal elevation patterns, NDVI-based surface greenness, and stakeholder perceptions across the East Central Florida Atlantic coast. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) elevation datasets (2016, 2022, 2024), National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP)-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) analyses (2015, 2019, 2023), and stakeholder survey data from two coastal resilience workshops conducted in Volusia County in November 2024 were assessed to evaluate geomorphic change, vegetation-greenness patterns, and public perceptions of shoreline management strategies. Results showed descriptive differences among shoreline-type groups. Seawall-backed sites experienced the greatest net elevation loss (−0.529 m averaged over two sites) and a small negative mean transect-level NDVI change (−0.034) between 2015 and 2023, while natural dune sites showed an overall elevation gain (0.255 m averaged over three sites), despite some site-level loss after the 2022 hurricanes, and no net mean transect-level NDVI change (0.000) over the same NDVI period. Because the LiDAR and NDVI datasets are not temporally matched, these patterns are interpreted as complementary rather than causal lines of evidence. Stakeholder survey responses demonstrated that most respondents recognized the importance of dunes and coastal vegetation for resilience, but also expressed concerns about effectiveness, long-term maintenance, and cost of natural or hybrid solutions. Overall, the findings suggest that natural and minimally armored shorelines may retain greater capacity for elevation and vegetation-greenness recovery than hardened coastal systems, while also emphasizing the need for adaptive, conservation-based coastal management strategies that account for both physical shoreline conditions and stakeholder concerns.