Researchers test whether salt marshes can protect coasts during extreme storms by resisting erosion and reducing wave energy. One study uses a large-scale experiment where researchers move salt marsh sections to a facility designed to generate very large artificial waves. It reports that marsh sediment and vegetation can remain largely intact even during storm-surge conditions, supporting the idea that salt marshes can function as natural coastal defenses.
Other coverage emphasizes limits to that protection. Nature reports that salt-marsh platforms can resist erosion under extreme waves, but vegetation damage occurs and reduces wave attenuation. It adds that strong wave-energy reduction from vegetation is most evident at low-energy marsh coasts, where waves are below about 1 meter. A related Nature piece frames the overall question of whether plants defend coasts, noting that plants can protect inland areas from very large waves but that protection appears to plateau and progressive damage can occur during bigger storms.
