Management requirements are primarily protection from foot and vehic- 

 ular traffic, and prompt replanting of breaks that may lead to blowouts. 

 This grass will tolerate moderate amounts of foot traffic but very little 

 vehicular traffic. Suitable ramps and walkways should be provided for 

 passage over barrier dunes. These structures should be elevated to per- 

 mit growth under them. Accumulation of dead leaves and stems in estab- 

 lished stands of American beachgrass sometimes creates a fire hazard. 

 This grass will tolerate burning in winter or early spring. Controlled 

 burning may be advisable to reduce the hazard of wildfire or to control 

 pests. 



American beachgrass will also tolerate occasional mowing. However, 

 where repeated mowing may be required, a different grass should be planted. 



(b) Wild Rye, Elymus mollis {E. arenarius) . This grass is 

 widely distributed in the pioneer zone throughout the region (Hall and 

 Ludwig, 1975). It is capable of building barrier dunes but more diffi- 

 cult to propagate and transplant, and is not as efficient a sand trapper 

 as American beachgrass. It is more susceptible to rabbit damage than 

 most other grasses in this zone. It is not commercially available in the 

 region. Another wild rye, E. canidensis , also occurs along the Great 

 Lakes shores (Cowles, 1899; Hall and Ludwig, 1975) but is apparently 

 less of a dune builder than E. mollis. 



(c) Other Plants. There is a wide variety of native plants 

 that occur in the pioneer zone in this region; some are true pioneers, 

 others are secondary or tertiary invaders. 



Several species such as blue joint {Calamagvostis oanadensis) , prairie 

 sandreed {Calamovilfa longifolia) , tansy [Tanaaetom huronense) , European 

 beachgrass {Ammophila arenaria) , false heather {Eudsonia bomentosd] , and 

 scouring rush {Equisetum hyemale') invade as pioneers and contribute to 

 dune growth and stability. Sand cherry [Frunus pumila) , creeping cedar 

 {Jimiperus horisontalis) , forest grape [Vitus riparid) , beach pea 

 {Lathyrus maritimus) , and willow {Salix sp.) are frequently secondary 

 stabilizers. 



Balsm popular [Populus balsamifera) is the most frequent tertiary 

 species. 



Most Great Lakes dunes can be converted to forest once they have been 

 stabilized with herbeceous plants as trees can grow much closer to the 

 shore because of the absence of salt. Fully established forests usually 

 form the most durable, maintenance-free cover for Great Lakes dunes. 

 Coniferous species have generally been the most successful on dune sands 

 (Lehotsky, 1941; 1972); other trees and shrubs may be used to stabilize 

 for special uses (Brown and Hafenrichter, 1962) . 



4. Sand Accumulation . 



The rate and volume of sand accumulated by a properly designed and 

 maintained sand fence installation, vegetative planting, or combination 



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