MIAMI — Along most of the historic South Florida coast, mangroves were nature’s way of protecting the coast from waves and hurricanes. As development inched closer to the water, seawalls became the method of choice to separate land and sea. With 2 feet of sea level rise on the horizon by 2060, which is the right choice for extending the life span of cities like Miami? The science — at least for pure flood control — suggests the man-made answer wins out over nature’s solution, with some caveats. Peter Sheng, a University of Florida researcher who’s studied the protective value of mangroves in F…
