A new species has recently invaded coastal dune ecosystems in North West Europe. The native and expansive inland grass, Deschampsia flexuosa, progressively dominating inland heaths, has recently invaded coastal dunes in Denmark, occasionally even as a dominant species. A total of 222 coastal locations with 5,000 random sample plots have been investigated. These findings are in contrast to historical records, and D. flexuosa has never been considered belonging to coastal dune ecosystems. The occurrence of the typical inland grass in the coastal dunes is a strong indication of increase in nutrient level and that human influences may cause a native species to be invasive in new ecosystems. This could be a radical example of change in species composition due to a long lasting exceedance of critical load of nitrogen. The investigation also showed a general increase in cover of the most dominant species.
BioOne.org will be down briefly for maintenance on 17 December 2024 between 18:00-22:00 Pacific Time US. We apologize for any inconvenience.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 November 2011
A Native Species with Invasive Behaviour in Coastal Dunes: Evidence for Progressing Decay and Homogenization of Habitat Types
Knud Erik Nielsen,
Hans Jørgen Degn,
Christian Damgaard,
Marianne Bruus,
Bettina Nygaard
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
It is not available for individual sale.
This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
It is not available for individual sale.
Critical load
Dunes, succession
Eutrofication
Habitat types
Pinpoint
