SAND DUNE HABITAT CREATION ON THE PACIFIC COAST 



Wilbur E. Ternyik 



Wave Beach Grass Nursery 

 Post Office Box 1190 

 Florence, Oregon 97439 



Initial stabilization of sand dune 

 areas should be done by planting Euro- 

 pean beach grass ( Ammophila arenaria ). 



Clean plants by shaking sand and 

 silt from the roots. Remove stalks and 

 trash from the culms. Break off the un- 

 derground stems so that one or two nodes 

 remain. Sort grass culms and tie them 

 into bundles weighing approximately 4.5 

 kg (10 lb). Cut the tops so that the 

 overall length of the planting stock is 

 about 50 cm (20 inches). 



Plant in hills with at least three 

 live culms per hill and a spacing be- 

 tween hills of about 46 cm (18 inches). 

 Plant the grass to a depth of 30 cm (12 

 inches), cover with sand or silt, and 

 compact the soil to exclude air from the 

 roots (nodes). The top of the plant 

 should extend approximately 20 cm (8 

 inches) above the ground. Do not plant 

 on any area until the moisture is within 

 8 cm (3 inches) of the ground surface. 

 Do not plant when the temperature ex- 

 ceeds 16° C (61° F) or when freezing 

 conditions prevail. 



Fertilize plantings with ammonium 

 sulfate commercial fertilizer (Elephant 

 brand or equal) at the rate of 45 kg/ha 

 40 lb/acre) of available nitrogen. Apply 

 the fertilizer on a calm day and during 

 a season when rain can be expected peri- 

 odically (irrigation may be substituted 

 for rain). 



The planting stock should be plant- 

 ed within 8 hr after removal from the 

 nursery areas or heeling-in beds. The 

 heeling-in beds should be well-drained 

 damp trenches with the roots (nodes) 

 covered with at least 23 cm (9 inches) 

 of soil. Stock should not be kept in 

 heeling-in beds longer than 2 weeks. 

 Before they are planted at the planting 

 site, the plants must be kept in a cool, 

 shady place or otherwise protected 

 against damage from excessive drying. 



The planting stock may be handled 

 and transported by any method that does 



not damage the planting stock or the 

 area to be planted. Continual mainte- 

 nance is required on beachgrass for 

 about the first 2 yr; after that, only 

 periodic maintenance is required. When 

 large blowout or blowover areas develop, 

 the most effective maintenance procedure 

 is to replant with beachgrass and then 

 spread brush on the steep edges. Refer- 

 tilizing all weak areas seems to bring 

 back a sufficient cover, if the plant 

 root systems have not been uncovered. 



Secondary or permanent stabiliza- 

 tion in uplands or border plantings as- 

 sociated with a deflation plain usually 

 is accomplished by one of two methods. 

 In most areas, the beach grass plantings 

 are 2 yr old, when follow-up plantings 

 of 1-0 Cytisus scoparius (Scotchbroom) 

 and 2-0 Pinus contorta (lodgepole pine) 

 are planted on 2.4-m (7.8-ft) centers. 

 The planting season is normally 15 De- 

 cember to 1 February. Sctochbroom is 

 used as a temporary plant with several 

 benefits. First, growth is more rapid 

 than the pine so it provides wind pro- 

 tection for about 8 yr. Second, Scotch- 

 broom is a legume and provides some ni- 

 trogen. Scotchbroom is also very fire 

 resistant and provides good upland bird 

 cover and feed. 



Scotchbroom is normally shaded out 

 between the 10th and 12th yr; the result 

 is a dense lodgepole pine forest habitat 

 that includes other woody species which 

 have invaded from nearby plant communi- 

 ties. Be certain to plan for vegetative 

 firebreaks in large plantings of this 

 kind. Failure to plan for firebreaks 

 can result in large losses to permanent 

 cover and creation of very adverse con- 

 ditions for rehabilitation. Two species 

 are most commonly used. The best is 

 Lathyrus japonious seeded in a permanent 

 grass mixture. Seeds are treated with 

 H0SO4 or scarified. Fires with intense 

 heat rarely burn over 4 m (13 ft) into a 

 stand of this plant. The other plant is 



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