Human occupation, use and abuse

Abstract

Occupation of sand dunes dates back many thousand years. This chapter provides a summary of the history of human occupation from Mesolithic Times to the present. It considers the way human activities have modified or destroyed the surface of the, sometimes extensive dune fields (Sects. 2.1 and 2.5). It describes the indirect impact these may have on the beach/foredune together with the implications of sediment depletion (Sect. 2.6). The cumulative nature of these developments helps identify a ‘sand dune squeeze’ (Sects. 2.7 and 2.8).