The Dutch dune area has dried out at a number of locations as a result of water extraction and drainage of adjacent polder areas. Wildlife managers are searching for favourable locations to restore the natural environment to the original wet dune valleys. Chris Bakker has compiled a number of characteristics that a dune valley must satisfy for a successful restoration project to be carried out.
Chris Bakker investigated dune valleys in Zuid Kenemerland National Park. He discovered that the restoration of plant growth in nutrient-poor, wet dune valleys set off a chain reaction with respect to changes in the quantity of dead plants, responses of individual plants and the species composition of the vegetation.
Changes in the water level were found to have a direct and major impact on the ecosystems. First of all plants submerged by water for the first time die. Then the increased water level influences the plant growth in three different ways: Firstly a high water level is highly favourable for the germination and establishment of plants from wet dune valleys. Secondly at some locations seepage water that is rich in chalk and iron returns to the surface. As a result of this the nutrient phosphate is stored in chemical compounds that cannot be accessed by the majority of plants. Therefore only typical dune plants, which use phosphate very sparingly, can grow at these locations. Finally the water can easily transport seeds from other populations, thus facilitating the spread of species.
Dr. Chris Bakker | alfa
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27.06.2017 | International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Dune ecosystem modelling
26.06.2017 | Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg im Breisgau
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