(£) Spreads outward 3 to 4 meters per year, and produces 

 the most gentle seaward dune slopes of all the species (Woodhouse, 

 Seneca, and Broome, 1976) . 



(g) Vigorous rhizome system makes it very effective at 

 filling open stands and excellent for maintenance and repair 

 of plantings. 



(h) Responds vigorously to fresh sand (will grow through 

 1.2 meters of accumulating sand in one growing season) (Fig. 15). 



(i) Fades rapidly when sand and nutrient supply is cut off, 

 and tends to be short-lived in the intermediate zone unless 

 fertilized. 



(j) Affected by heat and drought in the southern part of 

 its range where it is usually replaced within a few years by 

 better adapted species such as sea oats and bitter panicum. 



(k) Very susceptible to a soft scale, Eriooooous caro'li.nae. 

 (Campbell and Fuzy, 1972), throughout most of its Atlantic coast 

 range and to Marasmius blight, a fungus pest (Lucas, et al., 

 1971), along the South Atlantic coast. 



(2) European Beachgrass . A species very similar to American 

 beachgrass (Fig. 16), that was introduced in the late 1800's to the 

 Pacific coast where it has become widely distributed by planting and 

 natural spread. This is the marram grass of the British Isles and 

 northern Europe, and probably the dune grass most extensively planted 

 in the past. It is the principal grass used along the Pacific coast 

 for the initial stabilization of large areas of blowing sand and the 

 building of foredunes. Characteristics of European beachgrass are: 



(a) Exceptionally easy to multiply vegetatively (a hundred- 

 fold increase per year is not unusual under nursery conditions) , 

 and available commercially. 



(b) Easy to harvest, store, and transplant, but will not 

 tolerate as high a temperature as American beachgrass. 



(c) Long transplanting season, with excellent survival 

 under proper conditions, and suitable for machine or manual 

 transplanting. 



(d) Grows rapidly and responds vigorously to a plentiful 

 sand supply (grows through as much as 60 centimeters of sand 

 per year) . 



(e) Rhizomes shorter than those of American beachgrass 

 apparently cause steeper seaward dune slopes (no documentation 



32 



