Geomorphological and ecological change in a coastal foreland dune system, Sandscale haws, Cumbria, UK: the management challenges posed by climate change
Pye, Kenneth; Blott, Simon J.; Forbes, Neil; Maskell, Lindsay C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4006-7755. 2020 Geomorphological and ecological change in a coastal foreland dune system, Sandscale haws, Cumbria, UK: the management challenges posed by climate change. Journal of Coastal Conservation, 24 (6), 64. 34, pp. 10.1007/s11852-020-00781-5
Before downloading, please read NORA policies.
Text
Pye_ Blott_Forbes_Maskell Journal Coastal Conservation Sandscale Haws Paper Revised manuscript 19 August 2020.pdf Restricted to NORA staff only Download (5MB) |
Abstract/Summary
Many coastal sand dune systems in the UK and other parts of the world have experienced a decline in bare sand extent and dune mobility over the past 70 years, accompanied by increased coverage of coarse grass, scrub and woodland vegetation. This has raised concerns amongst nature conservationists about the survival of dune specialist species. Opinions are divided, however, regarding what management interventions should be made to counteract these trends. This paper reviews the factors which have contributed to progressive dune system stabilization at Sandscale Haws, located on the Irish Sea coast in Northwest England, considers the implications for the site of UKCP18 future climate change projections, and discusses the options and plans for future adaptive management. Analaysis of aerial photographs indicated a large reduction in bare sand area between 1946 and 1988 (from >34% to 9% of the dune system), since when there has been a further decline to 1.7%. Consideration of the evidence suggests that a trend towards a warmer, slightly wetter and less windy climate has been the main driver of stabilization, although atmospheric nitrogen deposition, increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations, reduced grazing intensity, reduced human disturbance from the mid-1980s onwards and a tendency for shoreline progradation on the west-facing coast have played contributing roles. Some species characteristic of open habitats can still be found in good numbers in parts of the dune system, but without increased management it is likely they will decline further and some may become locally extinct. Since the site is of national and international importance for a number of nationally scarce plant and animal species it is considered that there is both a legal and an ethical duty to attempt to maintain suitable habitat for their survival. As a National Nature Reserve Sandscale Haws provides a suitable ‘natural laboratory’ within which to research the effectiveness of different intervention methods. A number of small-scale dune rejuvenation methods have been trialled since 2015, and options for larger scale interventions, including turf stripping and possible dune notching, are currently being evaluated as part of the nation-wide Dynamic Dunescapes project.
Item Type: | Publication - Article |
---|---|
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): | 10.1007/s11852-020-00781-5 |
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas: | Soils and Land Use (Science Area 2017-) |
ISSN: | 1400-0350 |
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.: | Publisher link (see Related URLs) provides a read-only full-text copy of the published paper. |
Additional Keywords: | sand dunes, stabilisation, remobilisation, climate change, Sandscale haws |
NORA Subject Terms: | Ecology and Environment |
Related URLs: | |
Date made live: | 26 Oct 2020 12:52 +0 (UTC) |
URI: | https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528774 |
Actions (login required)
View Item |
Document Downloads
Downloads for past 30 days
Downloads per month over past year