Trends and trade-offs – Inland vegetated dune

Abstract

In the absence of human intervention and with a reasonable sediment supply, the typical communities will include all the successional vegetation described in Chap. 1, from pioneer dunes to scrub and woodland. However, most coastal dunes have had some form of human interference in the past. The introduction of domesticated stock more than 5,000 years ago helped modify dune vegetation in some parts of the world (Sect. 2.4.2). This chapter is concerned with the ‘mechanisms for change’ on these vegetated sand dunes. The way the stands of vegetation react in terms of species composition, height and structure particularly to the effects of different grazing regimes, is a key part of the discussion. A ‘State Evaluation Model’, mostly based on European examples, provides a summary of the possible pathways to restoring degraded vegetation. This model relates to the surface of dunes inland from the beach/dune interface. In addition to grazing it also discusses the stabilisation of areas historically laid bare by sand drift (Sect. 2.2.) through afforestation (Sect. 2.3.2). It takes into account the extent that native woodland survives and the value of allowing scrub and secondary woodland to develop. The trends associated with recreational activities and water relationships complete the analysis.