• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

TCV Practical Conservation Handbooks

The definitive guides to practical conservation work

Sign up today

Current subscriber? Login

  • The Handbooks
    • Dry Stone Walling
    • Fencing
    • Footpaths
    • Hedging
    • Sand Dunes
    • Toolcare
    • Tree Planting & Aftercare
    • The Urban Handbook
    • Waterways & Wetlands
    • Woodlands
  • In brief
  • About
  • Log In
  • Search
Home » Sand Dunes » Sand dunes introduction

Sand dunes introduction

Learn how to maintain and improve these extremely fragile, valuable, natural habitats through manual work.

Chapter list

  • Sign up now for full access!
  • Already a subscriber? Sign in

Introduction

This is a Handbook of sand dune management. It is intended to be used by conservation volunteers and all others interested in maintaining or improving valuable natural habitats through manual work.

Like many coastal habitats, sand dunes are extremely fragile, attuned to natural changes but not to those caused by man. Pollution, ill-planned development and overuse have already degraded great stretches of coastline and threaten to engulf others. Solutions, in many cases, must be legal and political and require integrated planning techniques which are beyond the scope of this Handbook. What is covered are problems which volunteer conservation groups can successfully attack, and the tools, organisation and methods which they can use on their tasks.

This Handbook first describes sand dune formation and the ecological and management principles of their conservation. It then goes into detail on why and how to protect and restore them and their wildlife. An understanding of dune ecology, accretion and erosion provides the key to sensitive handling of visitor problems which threaten to degrade even the most scenic and scientifically important dune systems. Reasons for stabilising dunes, appropriate strategies and methods of contouring, fencing and planting sand-trapping grasses and shrubs are given in detail. Access management and the siting and surfacing of pathways are described as a necessary part of dune protection. Further topics in vegetation management include control of sea buckthorn and other scrub as well as management by grazing and mowing. Important aspects of animal management are treated briefly, including, the protection of two rare and declining coastal species, the natterjack toad and the sand lizard.

Coastlands, particularly in Britain, have a diversity of physical form and of plant and animal life perhaps unequalled anywhere else. And despite the dangers which they now face, they remain among the areas least modified by man. How long this will hold true is open to doubt. What is certain is that conservation management is increasingly important. Volunteers can supply the necessary work force for many coastal protection tasks. And with luck they may even get a tan at the same time.

Throughout the text, points which it is desired to stress and lists of items of equipment etc are set out in a, b, c order. Sequential operations and procedures are given in 1, 2, 3 order. Scientific terms and words used in a technical sense are defined in the Glossary. References to written source material are incorporated in the text and give the author first, followed by publishing date. Full listings of these and other useful works are given in the Bibliography.

Measurements are given first in metric units, followed in brackets by the imperial equivalent approximated to the accuracy required. Occasionally a dimension, and more often a product specification, is given in one unit only, according to current manufacturers’ listings.

Next →

Primary Sidebar

Sand Dunes

  • Sand dunes introduction
  • A look at sand dunes
  • Management planning
  • Coastlands and the law
  • Safety, equipment and organisation
  • Dune profiling and stabilisation
  • Access management
  • Vegetation establishment
  • Vegetation management
  • Dune wildlife
  • Site studies and surveys
  • The coastal code
  • Sand dunes bibliography
  • Sand dunes glossary

Footer

Useful information

  • Conservation and the volunteer worker
  • Health and Safety
  • Suppliers
  • Useful Contacts
  • Wildflowers
  • Training
  • British Standards
  • Concrete

Important information

  • Acknowledgements
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Sign up!
  • Log In

Further information

If you clicked on a link and expected TCV's online shop to be here, I'm afraid it closed in March 2016. We're redirecting all traffic to this site now.

  • Contact us about this site

Some of the handbooks are still available as books from here

© Copyright 2019 The Conservation Volunteers

Registered in England as a limited company (976410)
and as a charity in England (261009) and Scotland (SCO39302)

Registered Office: Sedum House, Mallard Way, Doncaster DN4 8DB

Website created and managed by Made in Trenbania on behalf of TCV

© Copyright 2019 The Conservation Volunteers (TCV). All rights reserved.

You may print this page for your own use, but you MAY NOT store in a retrieval system, or transmit by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of The Conservation Volunteers.

Of course, here's the usual message about saving paper and ink - please only print when necessary!

TCV is registered in England as a limited company (976410) and as a charity in England (261009) and Scotland (SCO39302)

Registered Office: Sedum House, Mallard Way, Doncaster DN4 8DB

  • TCV
  • Find TCV
  • Contact TCV
  • Careers with TCV