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Dune heath restoration
Attempts to restore sand dune heath are limited, however a number of experiments
using herbicides have been undertaken on lowland heath (including the sandy
soils of the Brecklands in East Anglia) to eradicate
bracken and scrub. Methods
for restoring degenerate Calluna vulgaris
include:
- Eliminating coarse grassland species (mowing alone, and in combination
with burning and rotovating);
- Exposing buried seed by rotovating and turf-stripping;
- Reducing the bracken Pteridium aquilinum
density by fosamine application (Marrs 1987a;
Marrs 1987b).
Another option investigated involves the use of formerly arable land for heathland
restoration which was studied on sandy soils in the Netherlands. The results
showed that heathland restoration at this study site requires a substantial
reduction of P availability in the soil together with the active introduction
of heather propagules. Topsoil removal appears to be an effective means of reducing
nutrient availability (Aerts et al. 1995).
| General guidance: More information is available on the general
approach the heathland restoration, much of which could apply to sand dune
heath. A general introduction to the habitat is provided by (Webb
1986), whilst a British Gas sponsored study provides a detailed description
of restoration techniques (Environmental Advisory
Unit 1988). |
References
Aerts, R., Huiszoon, A., Van Oostrum, J.H.A., Van De Vijver, C.A.D.M. & Willems, J.H.
1995.
The potential for heathland restoration on formerly arable land at a site in Drenthe, the Netherlands.
Journal of Applied Ecology, 32/4., 827-835.
Abstract...
Environmental Advisory Unit
1988.
Heathland Restoration: a Handbook of Techniques.
British Gas, Southampton.
Marrs, R.H.
1987a.
Studies on the conservation of lowland calluna heaths. I. control of birch and bracken and its effect on heath vegetation.
Journal of Applied Ecology, 24/1., 163-175.
Abstract...
Marrs, R.H.
1987b.
Studies on the conservation of lowland calluna heaths. II. regeneration of calluna, and its relation to bracken infestation.
Journal of Applied Ecology, 24/1., 177-189.
Abstract...
Webb, N.
1986.
Heathlands. Collins, London, 223 pp.
The New Naturalist Library
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