Chapter 8
The Impact of Dune Stabilization
on the Conservation Status of Sand Dune
Systems in Wales
Peter Rhind, Rod Jones and Laurence Jones
8.1 Introduction
Dunes in Wales represent one of the most natural habitats, with many sites having
UK or European protection status (Fig. 8.1, Table 8.1). However, over the years
much has been lost to industrial, urban, and tourist developments and large areas
have been planted with commercial forests (Everard et al. 2010; UKNEA 2011a, b).
This loss in quantity is further compounded by a loss of habitat quality due to
increasing amounts of stabilization and soil development, with most sand dunes in
Wales having virtually full plant cover (Dargie 1995) (Fig. 8.2). This issue is not
restricted to sand dunes in Wales, but occurs elsewhere in the UK (Radley 1994),
and indeed is part of a consistent trend across north-west Europe’s temperate dune
systems (Provoost et al. 2011). Overstabilization becomes a problem when the
balance between early successional and later, more stable successional phases is
lost. The early successional phases are important for many rare plant and invertebrate species in the UK. Furthermore, overstabilized systems lack the natural
dynamic mechanisms of geomorphological processes that allow them to adapt
naturally to threats such as climate change and sea-level rise.
There are many factors that influence the dynamic state of dune systems (see
below), but evidence from the Holocene stratigraphic record indicates that periods
P. Rhind (&) Á R. Jones
Countryside Council for Wales Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2DN Wales, UK
e-mail: p.rhind@ccw.gov.uk
R. Jones
e-mail: rd.jones@ccw.gov.uk
L. Jones
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road,
Bangor LL57 2UW Wales, UK
e-mail: LJ@ceh.ac.uk
M. L. Martínez et al. (eds.), Restoration of Coastal Dunes, Springer Series
on Environmental Management, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-33445-0_8,
Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
125
The Impact of Dune Stabilization
on the Conservation Status of Sand Dune
Systems in Wales
Peter Rhind, Rod Jones and Laurence Jones
8.1 Introduction
Dunes in Wales represent one of the most natural habitats, with many sites having
UK or European protection status (Fig. 8.1, Table 8.1). However, over the years
much has been lost to industrial, urban, and tourist developments and large areas
have been planted with commercial forests (Everard et al. 2010; UKNEA 2011a, b).
This loss in quantity is further compounded by a loss of habitat quality due to
increasing amounts of stabilization and soil development, with most sand dunes in
Wales having virtually full plant cover (Dargie 1995) (Fig. 8.2). This issue is not
restricted to sand dunes in Wales, but occurs elsewhere in the UK (Radley 1994),
and indeed is part of a consistent trend across north-west Europe’s temperate dune
systems (Provoost et al. 2011). Overstabilization becomes a problem when the
balance between early successional and later, more stable successional phases is
lost. The early successional phases are important for many rare plant and invertebrate species in the UK. Furthermore, overstabilized systems lack the natural
dynamic mechanisms of geomorphological processes that allow them to adapt
naturally to threats such as climate change and sea-level rise.
There are many factors that influence the dynamic state of dune systems (see
below), but evidence from the Holocene stratigraphic record indicates that periods
P. Rhind (&) Á R. Jones
Countryside Council for Wales Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2DN Wales, UK
e-mail: p.rhind@ccw.gov.uk
R. Jones
e-mail: rd.jones@ccw.gov.uk
L. Jones
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road,
Bangor LL57 2UW Wales, UK
e-mail: LJ@ceh.ac.uk
M. L. Martínez et al. (eds.), Restoration of Coastal Dunes, Springer Series
on Environmental Management, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-33445-0_8,
Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
125