nitrogen per hectare applied in early April or when rapid spring growth 

 begins. Ammonium sulfate is the customary nitrogen source because it is 

 readily available. Other standard sources are probably as satisfactory 

 (Woodhouse and Hanes, 1967). 



A response to phosphorus could occur on some sites. Andriani and 

 Terwindt (1974) found no benefit from phosphates applied on the well- 

 washed sands of dikes built during the construction of Europoort. 

 European beachgrass may be less sensitive to phosphorus supply than 

 American beachgrass. 



Management of this grass requires protection from traffic, prompt 

 replanting of missing hills or breaks, and the introduction of other 

 species able to take over and maintain stability in back-dune areas 

 that are likely to become sand starved. Other grasses and legumes 

 may be seeded in the intermediate zone for this purpose. Shrubs and 

 trees are used farther inland (McLaughlin and Brown, 1942; Brown and 

 Hafenrichter, 1962) but these do not tolerate foredune conditions. 



(b) American Beachgrass . McLaughlin and Brown (1942) con- 

 sidered this plant equal or superior to European beachgrass for stabili- 

 zation and preferable for maintenance, because of its spreading ability 

 and resistance to weed competition. However, it is not popular in the 

 region because it is more expensive to produce and European beachgrass 

 works so well. It is widely distributed around and to the north of the 

 mouth of the Columbia River (Barbour, DeJong, and Johnson, 1976) and 

 occurs to a lesser extent throughout the northwest. The spread and per- 

 sistence of American beachgrass, coupled with its apparent advantages 

 such as the ability to fill-in patchy stands, repair storm damage, create 

 dunes with more gentle windward slopes, and tolerate interplanting of 

 other species and perhaps the invasion by native plants, indicate that 

 it should receive further consideration for foredune plantings in this 

 region. These apparent advantages may outweigh the lesser cost of 

 European beachgrass. It may be superior on foredune plantings that 

 usually represent small areas compared with the very large active dunes 

 that have been stabilized in this region. 



_1 Planting Methods . These are the same as for European 

 beachgrass. Plant by hand or machine 30 centimeters or more deep in moist 

 sand and firm sand around the base of the plant to exclude air pockets. 

 This plant is not as sensitive to temperature at planting as European 

 beachgrass and can be planted during warmer periods than European 

 beachgrass . 



2 Planting Date. American beachgrass may be planted 

 anytime during the~European beachgrass planting season, November through 

 March and perhaps through April into May. However, foredune planting 

 should probably be limited to late winter and spring to avoid winter 

 storm damages. 



3 Planting Stock. Clumps should be shaken free of 

 excess sand, divided iato three- to five-stem transplants, cleaned of 



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