A National Trust Beach. Shell Bay Dorset
The National Trust is usually thought of as an organisation to protect historic buildings but as I learnt in Dorset they all protect precious habitats. These delightful sand dunes on Studland Bay are managed by the Trust and appear to be thriving . Maintaining a sand dune is clearly a complex process . The following notes are from the Trust website the information contained I thought was fascinating .
“What we know about sand dunes, how they function and thrive, has changed. Previously, we thought dunes should be stabilised – protected from disturbance and cornered off from people. And so, fences were put up, we were told to stay away, and the dunes had nothing to keep them dynamic. Climate change and air pollution only made matters worse. They sent a boost of energy and nutrients into an ecosystem that had formed on the bare minimum, catalysing plant growth. Combine our intentional and unintentional efforts, and we began to lose the essence of our sand dunes.
We removed factors that would normally result in cycles of dune formation and instead accelerated the forward process. Now Studland’s mosaic landscape is slowly becoming smothered by gorse and trees. Open sandy habitats are being buried and rare wildlife pushed out. Data from the Cyril Diver citizen science project in 2016, reveals species like the Sand Lizard and Meadow Pipit shrinking in distribution, their numbers squeezed to the dune edges.
Studland’s dunes need our help. We need to slow down the acceleration of plant growth, restore Studland’s mosaic landscape and bring back the dynamic nature of our dunes into a self-regulating system. These are the aims of the Dynamic Dunescapes project. The project is a partnership between Natural England, Plantlife, Natural Resources Wales, The Wildlife Trusts and the National Trust, with National Trust sites including Woolacombe and Studland Bay.
At Studland Bay, four routes will be taken to restore the dunes:
1 Bare ground creation: Using tractors and mechanical excavators to clear sections of dense vegetation and re-create areas of bare sandy ground.
2 Reintroducing cattle grazing: Cattle mimic the benefits wild herbivores have on an ecosystem; they create bare ground, crop vegetation and form mosaic landscapes. In 2021, ten Red Devon cattle will arrive to Studland and start grazing the dense vegetation at the centre of the dunes.
3 Removing invasive carp from Little Sea: Carp were illegally introduced to a freshwater lake, known as Little Sea, triggering an ecological collapse. Dynamic Dunescapes will provide funding to remove carp from Little Sea and restore the ecosystem.
4 People: What better way to open the land, limit vegetation growth and create some much-needed disturbance than our very own feet? We want to remove the presumption that exploring the dunes will harm them. Instead we want to encourage people into the dunes, to learn about them, experience their beauty and help get them back to their sandy ways.
THANKS FOR YOUR VISITING BUT CAN I ASK YOU NOT TO FAVE AN IMAGE WITHOUT ALSO MAKING A COMMENT. MANY THANKS KEITH.
ANYONE MAKING MULTIPLE FAVES WITHOUT COMMENTS WILL SIMPLY BE BLOCKED
A National Trust Beach. Shell Bay Dorset
The National Trust is usually thought of as an organisation to protect historic buildings but as I learnt in Dorset they all protect precious habitats. These delightful sand dunes on Studland Bay are managed by the Trust and appear to be thriving . Maintaining a sand dune is clearly a complex process . The following notes are from the Trust website the information contained I thought was fascinating .
“What we know about sand dunes, how they function and thrive, has changed. Previously, we thought dunes should be stabilised – protected from disturbance and cornered off from people. And so, fences were put up, we were told to stay away, and the dunes had nothing to keep them dynamic. Climate change and air pollution only made matters worse. They sent a boost of energy and nutrients into an ecosystem that had formed on the bare minimum, catalysing plant growth. Combine our intentional and unintentional efforts, and we began to lose the essence of our sand dunes.
We removed factors that would normally result in cycles of dune formation and instead accelerated the forward process. Now Studland’s mosaic landscape is slowly becoming smothered by gorse and trees. Open sandy habitats are being buried and rare wildlife pushed out. Data from the Cyril Diver citizen science project in 2016, reveals species like the Sand Lizard and Meadow Pipit shrinking in distribution, their numbers squeezed to the dune edges.
Studland’s dunes need our help. We need to slow down the acceleration of plant growth, restore Studland’s mosaic landscape and bring back the dynamic nature of our dunes into a self-regulating system. These are the aims of the Dynamic Dunescapes project. The project is a partnership between Natural England, Plantlife, Natural Resources Wales, The Wildlife Trusts and the National Trust, with National Trust sites including Woolacombe and Studland Bay.
At Studland Bay, four routes will be taken to restore the dunes:
1 Bare ground creation: Using tractors and mechanical excavators to clear sections of dense vegetation and re-create areas of bare sandy ground.
2 Reintroducing cattle grazing: Cattle mimic the benefits wild herbivores have on an ecosystem; they create bare ground, crop vegetation and form mosaic landscapes. In 2021, ten Red Devon cattle will arrive to Studland and start grazing the dense vegetation at the centre of the dunes.
3 Removing invasive carp from Little Sea: Carp were illegally introduced to a freshwater lake, known as Little Sea, triggering an ecological collapse. Dynamic Dunescapes will provide funding to remove carp from Little Sea and restore the ecosystem.
4 People: What better way to open the land, limit vegetation growth and create some much-needed disturbance than our very own feet? We want to remove the presumption that exploring the dunes will harm them. Instead we want to encourage people into the dunes, to learn about them, experience their beauty and help get them back to their sandy ways.
THANKS FOR YOUR VISITING BUT CAN I ASK YOU NOT TO FAVE AN IMAGE WITHOUT ALSO MAKING A COMMENT. MANY THANKS KEITH.
ANYONE MAKING MULTIPLE FAVES WITHOUT COMMENTS WILL SIMPLY BE BLOCKED