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Sand dunes are common features of shoreline and desert environments. Dunes provide habitat for highly specialized plants and animals, including rare and endangered species. They can protect beaches from erosion and recruit sand to eroded beaches. Dunes are threatened by human activity, both intentional and unintentional. Countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Netherlands, operate significant dune protection programs.

Stabilizing dunes involves multiple actions. Planting vegetation reduces the impact of wind and water. Fences catch sand and other material. Footpaths protect dunes from damage from foot traffic.

Vegetation

The location on the dune limits the types of plant that can thrive there. Beach dunes consist of the foredune, the angled side which faces the ocean, the sand plain at the top of the dune, which may or may not be present, and the backdune, the angled side that faces away from the ocean.

Foredune flora

Plants that thrive on the foredune must be tolerant to salt spray, strong winds, and burial by blowing/accumulating sand. Typical vegetation includes Ammophila arenaria, Honckenya peploides, Cakile maritima, and Spartina coarctata.

Backdune flora

Plants which thrive on the broad dune plain and backdune grow together into dense patches termed dune mats that hold the dune together. Vegetation typical of the plain and backdune include Hudsonia tomentosa, Spartina patens, Iva imbricata, and Eregeron glaucus. Introduced species can outcompete native plants and disrupt animal life, making them formally "invasive species".

Shrub stage

The above are herbaceous plants. After they have rooted and developed fully, a second stage, the "shrub stage", can begin. During this phase, larger plants with deeper root systems can be planted. Examples are Empetrum nigrum, Ilex vomitoria, and Vaccinium ovatum. The shrub stage is usually the final phase and may last for short or long periods of time depending on microclimatic conditions such as distance from the shoreline, availability of groundwater, or salt spray effects..

Public and private coastal management

Often, long stretches of shoreline are not owned by a single owner, but are instead divided into segments usually owned by many separate owners. Because of this, it is sometimes difficult to stabilize an entire linear dune which may run the length of the beach due to private unwillingness to cooperate or from extended deliberation when deciding if and how to best stabilize the dune. Vegetation on private lots is chosen at the discretion of the lot owner and thus can be decided based on aesthetic appearance and personal taste rather than on traits that would best characterize the plant for that position. Because of this, dune integrity can be segmented, known as a fragmented or decoupled gradient which creates weak points in the dune that are ineffective against mitigating floods. Fragmented dune gradients are in an environmentally degraded state, however they can provide unique opportunities for nature to grow where it otherwise may not have.

References

1. "A guide to managing coastal erosion in beach/dune systems". Scottish Natural Heritage. Retrieved December 12 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference martinez was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. Martinez, M. L. (2004). Coastal Dunes: Ecology and Conservation. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. ISBN 3-540-40829-0. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
4. Nordstrom, Karl F. (2008). Beach and Dune Restoration. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-85346-0.

See also

• Coastal management
• Sand dune ecology
• Coastal erosion
• Coastal geography
• Integrated coastal zone management
• Beach evolution
• Longshore transport

External links

• Sand Dune Stabilization And Reclamation In Southeastern Colorado
• Monitoring sand dune stabilization along the coastal dunes of Ashdod-Nizanim Israel
• Vetiver System for Sand Dune Stabilization A Vietnamese Experience

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v t e Coastal management
Management	Accretion Coastal engineering Coastal management Integrated coastal zone management Managed retreat Submersion
Hard engineering	A-Jacks Accropode Akmon Artificial reef Breachway Breakwater Cliff stabilization Dolos Flood wall Floodgate Gabion Groyne Jetty Levee Hard engineering Honeycomb sea wall Hudson's equation KOLOS Mole Pier Revetment Riprap Seawall Tetrapod Training wall Van der Meer formula Wharf Xbloc
Soft engineering	Beach nourishment Beach drainage Dynamic revetment Living shorelines Sand dune stabilization Soft engineering
Related topics	Beach evolution Coastal erosion Geotechnical engineering Land reclamation Longshore transport Modern recession of beaches Stream restoration

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