Dune Wars

Sand dunes are one of the very few areas of 'virgin' land arising in the UK. Dunes in this country have traditionally been allowed to be invaded by scrub, inorder to become consolidated. The scrub, however, often consists of alien species (e.g. Traveller's joy and Cotoneasters). Many of the specialist animals and plants that initially inhabit dunes simply fade away as scrub takes over. A new approach ('Dynamic Dunescapes') is being trialled by Natural England and associates (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/21/hello-hawthorn-10m-sand-dunes-project-brings-plants-back-to-life-aoe). At the Saltfleetsby-Treaddlethorpe Nature Reserve in Lincolnshire, scrub is being removed from 3.6 hectares of sand dunes. The idea is to allow the wind to move and change the shapes of dunes. It is thought this will preserve the dune's specialist flora and fauna for longer. In Wales, 87% of bare sand is lost, so a similar treatment of new dunes might also be in order here.