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Sand dune grazing management - summary
Grazing is a key element in the development and maintenance of sand dune vegetation
especially on calcareous dune systems in temperate regions. Domestic stock have
been grazed on sand dunes for centuries and together with the rabbit have helped
create and maintain the type of Open/Semi-mobile (State
2) dunes which are so prized for their diversity of wildlife. In this context
the importance of the rabbit
cannot be over-emphasised. Extensive low-level grazing has also been shown to
have the potential to enhance butterfly diversity in restoration projects in
the Netherlands (WallisDeVries & Raemakers
2001).
At many sites grazing management is the principle tool used to restore dune
vegetation (including dune slacks) which has become overgrown by coarse grasses
and scrub. Examples of grazing management regimes have been identified for sites
in Holland,
Sandscale
Haws and Braunton
Burrows including the use of different animals such as the donkey.
When considering grazing management regimes a number of caveats
should be heeded. This is also discussed in Chapter 7.5 (Doody
2001).
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Guidance: The level of grazing is important: too much and the
surface vegetation can be lost through erosion; too little and the sand
dune can become overgrown and loose species diversity. Monitoring the
effects of management is thus important. A simple approach has been adopted
at Penhale
Dunes and in Holland false colour aerial
photographs have been used to monitor the effects of cattle
grazing on vegetation.
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References
Doody, J.P.
2001.
Coastal Conservation and Management: an Ecological Perspective. Kluwer, Academic Publishers, Boston, USA, 306 pp.
Conservation Biology Series, 13
WallisDeVries, M.F. & Raemakers, I.
2001.
Does extensive grazing benefit butterflies in coastal dunes?.
, 179-188.
Abstract...
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