Chesil Beach - cSAC vegetated shingle interest

Vegetated shingle interest within the Chesil Beach cSAC:

1210 Annual vegetation of drift lines

Chesil Beach is a large (28km-long), relatively undisturbed shingle bar, and is one of two representatives of Annual vegetation of drift lines on the south coast of England. The inner shore of the beach supports extensive drift-line vegetation dominated by sea beet Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima and orache Atriplex spp. This community exists in a dynamic equilibrium with the perennial shrubby sea-blite Suaeda vera community typical of 1420 Mediterranean and thermo-Atlantic halophilous scrubs (Sarcocornetea fruticosi), for which this site has also been selected.

1220 Perennial vegetation of stony banks

The 28km-long shingle bar of Chesil Beach, with the contiguous Portland Harbour shore, is an extensive representative of Perennial vegetation of stony banks on the south coast of England, and most of it is relatively undisturbed by human activities. Much of the shingle bar is subject to wash-over and percolation in storm conditions and is therefore sparsely vegetated. It supports the most extensive occurrences of the rare sea-kale Crambe maritima and sea pea Lathyrus japonicus in the UK, together with other grassland and lichen-rich shingle plant communities typical of more stable conditions, especially towards the eastern end of the site.