Description of Tavira Island (Barril)

Tavira Island has a single continuous foredune, backed by an extensive backbarrier with hummocky marshes, dunes, and tidal channels. The selected study site, Praia do Barril, has a recent history of shoreline stability, with an almost continuous foredune. Dune vegetation cover has become denser during the last 50 years. The wider sandy portion of barrier island, nowadays covered by dunes, have relict tidal channels that penetrate into the island body, sometimes reaching the back of the foredune. Due to its low elevation, backbarrier dunes exhibit temporary ponds, where fresh-water vegetation developed. On the oceanic beach, temporary structures are installed and removed each year, supporting hundreds of daily visitors.

The Barril sector of Tavira Island is one of EVREST project study sites as it represents the evolution of a barrier island unaffected directly by tidal inlets, at least since the 1920s.