Sand dunes
What is it?
A sand dune is a hill or ridge beyond the reach of the tides, formed from sand over many years. They are ever-changing structures. Dunes usually form in bands parallel to the beach, getting taller and more chaotic the further away you get.
Traveling further from the beach towards the back of the dunes the vegetation starts to change. Over time, the whole system grows while shifting closer to the sea, and if you look at the dunes, you can see each ridge going through the different vegetation phases in turn.
Dune systems can also shrink as a consequence of storm events, rising sea levels or an interruption to the supply of sand.
Distribution in the UK
Sand dunes occur widely around the coastline of the UK, with particularly large areas in the Hebrides and fewer along the south coast.
Conservation
Some individual dunes may be just a few years old, while the oldest dune systems date back 9000 years, but old or young, all dunes are naturally dynamic, presenting conservation challenges in a landscape where little space is allowed for mobile habitats. Hemmed in by golf courses, farmland, and development, and affected by hard sea defences that change the availability of new sand, dunes systems can become fossilised. The natural processes that create sand dunes are interrupted, meaning that species are lost.
Climate change presents a significant challenge, as many dunes systems lack the space to roll inland as sea levels rise. Recreational pressure can be an issue – strandline and foredune species are particularly vulnerable to trampling, and damage to these affect the future development of the dune system.
Dynamic Dunescapes is an ambitious project, rejuvenating some of England and Wales' most important sand dunes for people, communities and wildlife.