Ølsemagle Revle, further south in the bay of Køge Bugt, which was studied by
Gravesen and Vestergaard (1969), served as a model (Nielsen 1990).
The total size of the seaside park is about 500 ha. The park is managed by the I/
S Køge Bugt Strandpark. The total price for the establishment of the seaside park
amounted to approximately 91 million Danish krone (about 13 million US dollars).
The annual management amounts to around 5 million crowns (about 0.7 million
US dollars) (Valgren et al. 1986).
The initial relief of the artificial beach and dune is shown in Fig. 4.2. The
beach, about 45 m wide, was built up to +2.3 m DNN (Danish Mean Sea Level).
The initial dune consisted of a horizontal plateau at +3 m DNN, approximately
20 m wide, delimited by a seaward and a landward slope. The dune plateau and the
seaward slope were planted with Ammophila arenaria. The planting was carried
out according to the traditional Danish method (Jensen 2008). At about ten regularly distributed points per square meter, 2–4 Ammophila shoots, cut at a depth of
10–20 cm below the sand surface in established Ammophila dune elsewhere, were
planted. After the planting, the area was fertilized with NPK fertilizer. The area
landward of the dune was sown with a mixture of perennial grasses, mostly
Festuca rubra, and locally planted with low shrubs: the native Hippophaë
rhamnoides, which is rather widely distributed along Danish coasts, and the nonnative Rosa rugosa. Even if Rosa rugosa is non-native and now known to be
invasive, it was earlier commonly planted along Danish coasts for its ornamental
value and its sand-binding ability (Weidema et al. 2007).
4.2.2 Data Collection
In 1979, a study area across the barrier, 100 m wide, was selected (‘‘A’’ in
Fig. 4.1). Along a line transect, perpendicular to the shore, six permanent plots
were established. This chapter is based on four of these plots, each 5 9 10 m
2 : two
plots from the inner and outer part of the dune plateau (‘‘dune 1a’’ and ‘‘dune 1b’’)
and two from the inner and outer parts of the beach (‘‘dune 2’’ and ‘‘dune 3’’;
Fig. 4.2). Because of later gradual seaward widening of the beach, an additional
plot was established in 1993 (‘‘dune 4’’).
The species composition and species diversity of the permanent plots were
recorded in July or August on 11 occasions between 1979 and 2002. The distance to the sea of the plots was recorded, and from 1980 the plots were leveled
in relation to DNN. A quantitative estimate of the species composition was
attempted using a fixed system of 20 sampling circles of 0.1 m
2 . In the circles
rooted species of vascular plants were recorded, and the cover of each species
was estimated using the Hult–Sernander 1–5 cover scale (1: cover \6 %, 2:
cover 6–12.5 %, 3: cover 12.5–25 %, 4: cover 25–50 %, 5: cover [ 50 %)
(Malmer 1974;Hansen 1981, nomenclature). From these data, frequency (%) and
mean cover of the species in each plot were calculated. In total 43 relevées (plotyears) were analyzed.
52
P. Vestergaard
Gravesen and Vestergaard (1969), served as a model (Nielsen 1990).
The total size of the seaside park is about 500 ha. The park is managed by the I/
S Køge Bugt Strandpark. The total price for the establishment of the seaside park
amounted to approximately 91 million Danish krone (about 13 million US dollars).
The annual management amounts to around 5 million crowns (about 0.7 million
US dollars) (Valgren et al. 1986).
The initial relief of the artificial beach and dune is shown in Fig. 4.2. The
beach, about 45 m wide, was built up to +2.3 m DNN (Danish Mean Sea Level).
The initial dune consisted of a horizontal plateau at +3 m DNN, approximately
20 m wide, delimited by a seaward and a landward slope. The dune plateau and the
seaward slope were planted with Ammophila arenaria. The planting was carried
out according to the traditional Danish method (Jensen 2008). At about ten regularly distributed points per square meter, 2–4 Ammophila shoots, cut at a depth of
10–20 cm below the sand surface in established Ammophila dune elsewhere, were
planted. After the planting, the area was fertilized with NPK fertilizer. The area
landward of the dune was sown with a mixture of perennial grasses, mostly
Festuca rubra, and locally planted with low shrubs: the native Hippophaë
rhamnoides, which is rather widely distributed along Danish coasts, and the nonnative Rosa rugosa. Even if Rosa rugosa is non-native and now known to be
invasive, it was earlier commonly planted along Danish coasts for its ornamental
value and its sand-binding ability (Weidema et al. 2007).
4.2.2 Data Collection
In 1979, a study area across the barrier, 100 m wide, was selected (‘‘A’’ in
Fig. 4.1). Along a line transect, perpendicular to the shore, six permanent plots
were established. This chapter is based on four of these plots, each 5 9 10 m
2 : two
plots from the inner and outer part of the dune plateau (‘‘dune 1a’’ and ‘‘dune 1b’’)
and two from the inner and outer parts of the beach (‘‘dune 2’’ and ‘‘dune 3’’;
Fig. 4.2). Because of later gradual seaward widening of the beach, an additional
plot was established in 1993 (‘‘dune 4’’).
The species composition and species diversity of the permanent plots were
recorded in July or August on 11 occasions between 1979 and 2002. The distance to the sea of the plots was recorded, and from 1980 the plots were leveled
in relation to DNN. A quantitative estimate of the species composition was
attempted using a fixed system of 20 sampling circles of 0.1 m
2 . In the circles
rooted species of vascular plants were recorded, and the cover of each species
was estimated using the Hult–Sernander 1–5 cover scale (1: cover \6 %, 2:
cover 6–12.5 %, 3: cover 12.5–25 %, 4: cover 25–50 %, 5: cover [ 50 %)
(Malmer 1974;Hansen 1981, nomenclature). From these data, frequency (%) and
mean cover of the species in each plot were calculated. In total 43 relevées (plotyears) were analyzed.
52
P. Vestergaard