Vegetation development in coastal foredunes in relation to methods of establishing marram grass ( Ammophila arenaria ) |
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Authors: | Laan D van der Tongeren O F R van Putten W H van der and Veenbaas G |
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Institution: | (1) Netherlands Institute of Ecology, P.O. Box 40, NL-6666 ZG Heteren, The Netherlands;(2) Data-analysis Ecology, Waemelslant 27, NL-6931 HS Westervoort, The Netherlands;(3) Hydraulic Engineering Division of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, P.O. Box 5044, NL-2600 GA Delft, The Netherlands |
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Abstract: | In coastal foredunes marram grass (Ammophila arenaria) is used to stabilize windblown sand. The development of traditionally plantedAmmophila into a more natural foredune vegetation may take 5–10 yr. For economic reasons, traditional planting may be replaced by alternative
techniques such as planting seeds or disk-harrowing rhizome fragments. In this paper, we compare the initial vegetation development
of traditionally planted stands with stands established from seeds and from rhizomes.
The experiments were conducted on an artificial foredune originating from dredged sea sand. The total experimental area covered
more than 100 ha and the vegetation development was studied for 6 yr. The data were analysed bya priori grouping of plant species according to their ecology, as well as by Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Redundancy Analysis
(RA) of the percentage ground cover per plant species.
Comparing ecological groups of plants showed that all planting methods delivered equal numbers of plant species that are indicative
for coastal dunes. PCA and RA showed that methods based on the use of rhizome material resulted in a higher percentage cover
of clonal perennials (Calammophila baltica, Festuca rubra ssp.arenaria, Carex arenaria andCirsium arvense) than the traditionally planted stands and the stands obtained from seeds. The latter two were characterized by the dominance
of annuals, bi-annuals and (mostly nonrhizomatous) perennials.
Initially, the rates of succession were highest in the stands obtained from rhizomes. However, after 3–6 yr there were no
differences between the various stands. During the first four years, the percentage cover by rhizomatous foredune plants developed
faster than that of annuals, bi-annuals and perennials. After 6 yr, the latter contributed almost as much to the percentage
cover as the clonal species. |
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Keywords: | Clonal plant Dune management Dune reinforcement Sand dune Sand stabilization Succession |
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