Dune gardening? A critical view of the contemporary coastal dune management paradigm

Abstract

Modern coastal dune management is viewed largely through the prism of dune ecology. Achieving maximum biodiversity and preserving priority species are the primary objectives and management is based on interventions (grazing, mowing, burning, reseeding, and artificial destabilisation) to achieve that purpose. Under non-managed conditions, dune vegetation tends to evolve temporally following well-established succession patterns that lead to a low diversity scrub or woodland. Achieving high diversity involves resisting succession so as to preserve the more biodiverse, earlier stages. The net effect of management is to create dunes with a network of vegetation types that conform to human wish lists. Rather than natural environments, such interventions reduce dunes to the status of parklands.The natural status of NW European dunes under the conditions of relatively stable sea level and generally limited sand supply over the past few thousand years, and certainly since the Little Ice Age (1650-1800), is to be at a relatively well-vegetated and advanced stage of succession. Modern dune management effectively amounts to a form of "dune gardening" to maintain a status that is not natural (i.e., attuned to the ambient environment) under contemporary conditions or those of the past two centuries. Current practice is based on a human value-judgement that views natural succession as the enemy. This view and the resulting actions to resist natural change are at variance with the more pervasive environmental management goal of maintaining natural systems by resisting human intervention. Such an approach reduces dune resilience to global climate change. We advocate an approach that views dunes as combined geomorphological and ecological systems capable of change in response to changing environmental drivers.

Proposed improvement of coastal habitat resilience: The case study of Pantano forest of Policoro in southern Italy

“…Compared to terrestrial ecosystems, because of the environmental and microclimatic conditions, they have selected peculiar and specialised fauna and flora, often also exclusive (Gracia et al, 2019;Fabbri et al, 2021). Furthermore, these environments represent important ecological corridors for the animals in the coastal environment (Cooper and Jackson, 2020). This habitat exclusivity involves the coexistence of multiple elements of different biogeographical origins, united by high levels of specialisation.…”

“…It creates high, hummocky peaked dunes, which can easily withstand flooding and erosion (Seabloom et al, 2013;Bruls et al, 2016). Even the practice of sprinkling the dunes with the beached remains of Posidonia and other beached sea herbs has given good results, as these are natural materials widely available on site and which rapidly decompose without leaving traces or requiring restoration work (De Falco et al, 2003;Ruiz and Romero, 2003;Corenblit et al, 2007;Balestri et al, 2012;Cooper and Jackson, 2020;Maiolo et al, 2020). Recent studies demonstrated that planting mangroves along the shore or beach can reduce the wave height by 50% to 99% (McIvor et al, 2012;Raju and Arockiasamy, 2022).…”

Flood Mitigation in Mediterranean Coastal Regions: Problems, Solutions, and Stakeholder Involvement

“…Particular damage is linked to environmental impoverishment, resulting in around 77% of annual habitat losses and 38% of annual economic losses due to destruction of beaches and dunes [56,57]. It is estimated that 45% of Mediterranean coastal dunes have been damaged or destroyed since 1900, while the remaining 55% have lost some natural characteristics [58]. In Southern Europe, loss of 2000-17,000 km 2 of coastlines, and their heritages, and an estimated economic loss of EUR 18 billion are projected for the period 1908-2080 [59].…”

What is Area to physical and environmental geography?

“…There are some excellent recent papers that highlight contributions in these spaces, for example, the exploration of emerging hybrid urban landforms (Dixon et al, 2017), the provocative characterisation of the coastal management of dunes as “dune gardening” (Cooper & Jackson, 2021), and discussion around the role of public participation in river management (Buletti Mitchell & Ejderyan, 2021). The latter study touches on ideas explored by Lane (2019) in relation to critical physical geography and the integrative study of human–environment interactions, an area around which we would welcome further submissions.…”