The general pattern of dune succession from embryonic to fixed dunes is also
documented by several studies in Danish dunes (e.g., Warming 1909; Heykena
1965; Vestergaard 1991; Frederiksen et al. 2006). However, succession studies in
relation to restoration measures in dunes have not been carried out.
This chapter reports a 24-year study of the development of a beach–dune
system in Denmark, which in the 1970s was designed and established to meet local
recreational and coastal protection purposes (Nielsen 1990). Even if the establishment and development of this system is not an example of restoration
according to the narrow definition of the term—to move a degraded system to a
stable target state (Hobbs et al. 2007)—the results and observations gained from
the study may be relevant in a restoration context, because they indicate how a
human-modified dune might be restored by natural processes.
On a global scale, structural and adaptational characteristics of beach and dune
vegetation are similar, even if the taxonomic spectrum differs (Doing 1985).
Therefore, the use of plant functional types, i.e., sets of species sharing similar
structural and functional attributes (Box 1996), may permit ecological comparisons among coastal dunes on a more general scale than would be possible by using
a taxonomic approach (Shao et al. 1996; Garcia-Mora et al. 1999). A widely used
functional type system is the life form classification of Raunkiær (1907, 1934),
which has been applied in several studies on sand dune zonation and succession
(e.g., Ranwell 1959; Hundt 1985; Olff et al. 1993). Other functional traits,
important for understanding plant colonization and succession processes in coastal
dunes, are mechanisms of the dispersal of diaspores (Andersen 1993; Davy and
Figueroa 1993) and tolerance to burial by sand and salinity (Hesp 1991; GarciaMora et al. 1999; Gallego-Fernández and Martinez 2011).
The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between plant
diversity and dune development processes in the human-initiated dune system, and
to discuss whether those processes are similar to those known to be characteristic
of natural dune succession.
4.2 Locality and Methods
4.2.1 Initial Morphology of the Man-Made Beach-Dune System
The study site is located in the Køge Bay Seaside Park at the Baltic coast of
Zealand, Denmark, about 15 km southwest of Copenhagen (55°36
0 N, 12°22
0 E).
The seaside park consists of an artificial barrier, 8 km long, about 300 m wide,
established in 1977–1978, comprising a sandy beach, an artificial foredune and a
grassland area landward of the dune (Fig. 4.1). The system was created from
sediment, supplied to the beach by pumping calcareous marine sand upon previously existing, natural low sandy bars (Fig. 4.1; Thougaard 1980; Nielsen 1990).
During the planning of the barrier, the structure of a natural barrier island, the
50
P. Vestergaard
documented by several studies in Danish dunes (e.g., Warming 1909; Heykena
1965; Vestergaard 1991; Frederiksen et al. 2006). However, succession studies in
relation to restoration measures in dunes have not been carried out.
This chapter reports a 24-year study of the development of a beach–dune
system in Denmark, which in the 1970s was designed and established to meet local
recreational and coastal protection purposes (Nielsen 1990). Even if the establishment and development of this system is not an example of restoration
according to the narrow definition of the term—to move a degraded system to a
stable target state (Hobbs et al. 2007)—the results and observations gained from
the study may be relevant in a restoration context, because they indicate how a
human-modified dune might be restored by natural processes.
On a global scale, structural and adaptational characteristics of beach and dune
vegetation are similar, even if the taxonomic spectrum differs (Doing 1985).
Therefore, the use of plant functional types, i.e., sets of species sharing similar
structural and functional attributes (Box 1996), may permit ecological comparisons among coastal dunes on a more general scale than would be possible by using
a taxonomic approach (Shao et al. 1996; Garcia-Mora et al. 1999). A widely used
functional type system is the life form classification of Raunkiær (1907, 1934),
which has been applied in several studies on sand dune zonation and succession
(e.g., Ranwell 1959; Hundt 1985; Olff et al. 1993). Other functional traits,
important for understanding plant colonization and succession processes in coastal
dunes, are mechanisms of the dispersal of diaspores (Andersen 1993; Davy and
Figueroa 1993) and tolerance to burial by sand and salinity (Hesp 1991; GarciaMora et al. 1999; Gallego-Fernández and Martinez 2011).
The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between plant
diversity and dune development processes in the human-initiated dune system, and
to discuss whether those processes are similar to those known to be characteristic
of natural dune succession.
4.2 Locality and Methods
4.2.1 Initial Morphology of the Man-Made Beach-Dune System
The study site is located in the Køge Bay Seaside Park at the Baltic coast of
Zealand, Denmark, about 15 km southwest of Copenhagen (55°36
0 N, 12°22
0 E).
The seaside park consists of an artificial barrier, 8 km long, about 300 m wide,
established in 1977–1978, comprising a sandy beach, an artificial foredune and a
grassland area landward of the dune (Fig. 4.1). The system was created from
sediment, supplied to the beach by pumping calcareous marine sand upon previously existing, natural low sandy bars (Fig. 4.1; Thougaard 1980; Nielsen 1990).
During the planning of the barrier, the structure of a natural barrier island, the
50
P. Vestergaard