Return to Fast Fact Library

Coastal wetlands provide an average property damage savings of $1.8 million annually per square kilometer of wetland, as determined by a study of property damage caused by 88 tropical storms and hurricanes hitting counties on the coast of the United States from 1996 to 2016. Although estimated economic value varies widely across individual counties, counties with more wetland coverage experience significantly less property damage in extreme storm events.

Sun, Fanglin, and Richard T. Carson. “Coastal Wetlands Reduce Property Damage during Tropical Cyclones.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, February 2020. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1915169117.

Topics

Shoreline protection, Property values, Wetland, Resilience

The LPS Fast Fact Library is a collection of short summaries of landscape benefits derived from published research. The Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) compiles and writes the Fast Facts. LAF has no involvement in the data collection, analysis, review, publication, or funding of the research. If you have questions or comments on the Fast Fact Library itself, contact us at email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Help build the LPS: Find out how to submit a case study and other ways to contribute.