Landscape-scale environmental drivers of coastal dune mobility

沿海沙丘生境为一些稀有和受威胁的动植物提供了多种多样的生境。风沙在这些沙丘系统中的移动对于保持高水平的生物多样性至关重要，因为它为植物和动物创造了一个生活的栖息地马赛克。英国移动的海岸沙丘的保护状况在过去50年中急剧下降，使其成为急需关注的栖息地。因此，沿海沙丘的管理者，包括自然英格兰和国家资源威尔士，已经实施了一些栖息地恢复干预措施，包括清除入侵物种和成熟植被。改善沙子短期流动性的最有效战略是在以前存在移动的沙丘的地方大规模清除植被和挖掘槽状和碗状洼地。然而，这种技术也是最昂贵的。此外，来自荷兰和加拿大类似沙丘移动工作的证据表明，在管理干预后，这些沙丘的移动性无法持续，导致重新植被。这种缺乏持续流动性的原因是对驱动沙丘流动的自然过程缺乏了解。使用遥感和原位测量相结合，这项研究计划将统计确定与英国景观中的移动的沙丘相关的尺度因子。然后将与沿海沙丘环境的主要利益攸关方讨论和传播这一信息。从研究中获得的知识将用于指导决策的技术，位置和规模的沙丘修复干预整个英国和世界各地。

Coastal dune habitats provide a diversity of habitats for a number of rare and threatened plants and animals. The movement of windblown sand within these dune systems is critical to maintaining a high level of biodiversity as it creates a mosaic of habitats for plants and animals to live. The conservation status of mobile coastal sand dunes in the UK has declined dramatically in the last 50 years, making it a habitat in urgent need of attention. As a result, managers of coastal sand dunes, including Natural England and National Resource Wales, have implemented a number of habitat restoration interventions including the removal of invasive species and mature vegetation. The most efficient strategy to improve the short-term mobility of sand has been the large-scale removal of vegetation and excavation of trough and bowl-shaped depressions, in locations where mobile dunes previously existed. This technique, however, is also the most expensive. Additionally, evidence from similar dune remobilisation efforts in the Netherlands and Canada have reported that the mobility of these dunes is not sustained after management interventions, resulting in revegetation. This lack of sustained mobility has been attributed to a lack of understanding of the natural processes that drive dune mobility. Using a combination of remote sensing and in-situ measurements, this program of study will statistically identify the landscape-scale factors that correlate with mobile dunes in the UK landscape. This information will then be discussed and disseminated with key stakeholders in the coastal dune environment. The knowledge gained from the research will be used to guide decision making with regards to the technique, location, and scale of dune rehabilitation interventions throughout the UK and around the world.