Evento di conservazione e riparazione delle dune di sabbia della comunità di volontari "Work in Progress" organizzato con il Wildlife Trust e il Blackpool Borough Council. Le balle di paglia vengono utilizzate per tappare le "buchi del vento" sulle dune di costa per contribuire a consolidare e prevenire l'erosione, evitando che la sabbia soffiata dal vento si intralci sull'autostrada.
5616 x 3744 px | 47,5 x 31,7 cm | 18,7 x 12,5 inches | 300dpi
Data acquisizione:
19 aprile 2016
Ubicazione:
Lytham St Annes, Flyde, Lancashire, UK
Altre informazioni:
Questa immagine potrebbe avere delle imperfezioni perché è storica o di reportage.
Sand Couch-grass and Lyme-grass, Elymus arenarius, are pioneer species on newly forming dunes. They are very tolerant of salt and can therefore grow much closer to the sea than most other grasses. Both species have a waxy coating on the leaves which enables them to retain water. The leaves are often rolled, which is another adaptation which reduces the leaf surface area exposed to the atmosphere. This decreases the plant transpiration rates. These will be some of the first plants to begin to stabilize new dunes with their networks of root systems. By helping to bind the sand in one place, they produce a more stable wind break, encouraging yet more sand to be deposited and building the dune still higher. However, as the amount of sand being deposited increases, these pioneer plants cannot grow quickly enough to avoid being smothered. Where the rate of sand deposition is greater than 30cm per year, they will be outcompeted by Marram Grass. Marram Grass then takes over the process of binding the dunes. Marram Grass Marram Grass stabilizes the sand some distance below the surface because of its deep vertical root system and extensive horizontal root network. The clumps of Marram Grass are continually buried, only to regrow up through the newly deposited sand. Under dry atmospheric conditions, the leaves of Marram Grass will roll up tightly, exposing only the tough outer waxy cuticle of the leaf. This reduces transpiration and water loss. These later plant pioneers are more efficient at binding the surface sand, both because of the cover they provide and because of their near surface horizontal network of roots. Sand being carried by the wind drops out at these points and begins to build small sand piles. This now forms another more substantial wind break, which encourages more and more sand to be deposited. The sand dune is beginning to build. Depending on wind speed, the dune will either gradually move inland (high wind speeds), or it will remain static.
