Arable cultivation on raised shingle beaches

Several raised shingle beach sites in Scotland the rear part of the beach has been reclaimed for arable agriculture with the total loss of topographical features and the more terrestrial components of the vegetation. A classic example of this is the site at Claymoddie (Picture below), which is otherwise one of the most undisturbed along the Solway Firth (Randall 2001). Much of the land on the lower, younger ridges at Rhunahaorine has been reseeded with agricultural leys, which has resulted in a loss of natural vegetation. [Arable farming also occurs on the raised gravel beach at Browndown, Hampshire.]

Caption: Loss of shingle to arable cultivation Claymoddie, Dumfries and Galloway

References

Randall, R.E. 2001. Solway Firth: Inventory of Shingle Vegetation [CD-ROM]. Scottish Natural Heritage.