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Acquitaine coast - summary
The Acquitaine coast runs along the south western shore of France and is some
230km long. It is characterised by a series of barchan dunes, is up to 7km wide
in places and often exceeding 50m in height. In the early part of the 19th century
much of the dune was afforested with maritime pines (Pinus
pinaster). In all some 80,000 ha of coast dune were planted. At about
the same time (from 1827 onwards) in order to protect the growing forest from
the blowing sand and the effects of sea spray along its western fringes the
dune front was reprofiled using fences and seed mixtures sown in 500-1,500 ha
blocks with 20-30 kg/ha maritime pine, 8 kg Cytisus
scoparius and Ulex europaeus and 5
kg Ammophila. Storms in the early part of
the 20th century and neglect during the wars resulted in large scale erosion
(Favennec 1996). From 1945 onwards the dune
was retreating by 1-2 m/y and up to 4m/y in some places. This resulted in major
reinstatement of the dune by the Office National des Forêts (ONF http://www.onf.fr/)
especially between 1960 and 1980 who reprofiled the dune and planted Ammophila,
again along the whole dune front (Barrère
1992). See also Cape
Ferret.
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Guidance: This long history of dune 'protection' has given way
in recent years to policies which accepts a greater degree of mobility.
The results of a LIFE
project (Favennec 2002)
has contributed to the development of a wide variety of policies related
to managing coast sand dunes. These include Mimizan/Messanges (Landes):
Restoration of two coastal dunes subject to heavy pressure from tourism.
Operations combining visitor facilities, user safety and environmental
protection. Field experiments were rounded off by a seminar in Bordeaux
from 17th to 19th April 1996 and a video film summing up the different
operations. Partnership has been established between the ONF and the Coastal
Conservatory, the two chief public management bodies for French coastal
land.
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References
Barrère, P.
1992.
Dynamics and management of the coastal dunes of the Landes, Gascony, France.
In: Coastal Dunes. Geomorphology, Ecology and Management: Proceedings of the Third European Dune Congres, eds.Carter, R.W.G., Curtis, T.G.F. & Sheehy-Skeffington, M.J.A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, 25-32.
Favennec, J.
1996.
Coastal management by the French National Forestry Service in Aquitaine, France.
In: Studies in European Coastal Management, eds.Jones, P.S., Healy, M.G. & Williams, A.T.Samara Publishing Ltd., Cardigan, 191-196.
Abstract...
Favennec, J.
2002.
Connaissance et Gestion Durable des Dunes de la Côte Atlantique..
Office National des Forêts, France.
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