Rabbit grazing and sand dunes

Rabbits have been an important influence on sand dunes and sand dune vegetation since their introduction to northwest Europe (probably from Spain by the Romans). From as early as 1280 when rabbits were thought to have been introduced to Holland they were cultivated for food in "waredes" (warrens in Great Britain which were present on many large estates by the 17th century). (Wallage-Dress 1988; Thompson & Worden 1956) provide, respectively information from Holland and a wide-ranging description, history, physiology etc.

Rabbits are not only important in the development of close-cropped grassland but also their burrowing activities helped initiate small-scale sand dune mobility. Thus for many decades the rabbit has been intimately bound up with the development of dune vegetation at many sites in northwest Europe. Ranwell goes as far as to say "The structure of sand dune communities in Europe prior to myxomatosis was effectively the product of intensive rabbit-grazing." (Ranwell 1972a).

A recent study of rabbits on the Aberffraw dune system in north Wales (Potter & Hosie 2001) suggests that understanding the relationship between their behaviour and the way this influences vegetation may help in determining management options.

Comment: Rabbits in combination with sheep can cause major destabilisation of Machair.

References

Potter, J.A. & Hosie, C.A. 2001. Using behaviours to identify rabbit impacts on dune vegetation at Aberffraw, north Wales. In: Coastal Dune Management: Shared Experience of European Conservation Practice, eds.Houston, J.A., Edmondson, S.E. & Rooney, P.J.Liverpool University Press, 108-116. Abstract...

Ranwell, D.S. 1972a. Ecology of Salt Marshes and Sand Dunes. Chapman and Hall, London, 258 pp.

Thompson, H.V. & Worden, A.N. 1956. The Rabbit. Collins, London, 240 pp. New Naturalist

Wallage-Dress, J.M. 1988. Rabbits in the Coastal Dunes: Weighed and Counted. Drkkerij Mostert, Leiden, 153 pp.