and bicarbonate concentrations were greatest in the youngest dunes 

 where shell fragments were abundant. Willis and Yeamon (1961) stated 

 that there is a sufficient supply of micronutrients (boron, iron, 

 manganese, zinc, copper, and molybdenum) in coastal soils to support 

 vigorous plant growtho 



c. Soil Moisture and Water Table . Costing and Billings (1942) 

 found no significant difference between soil water moisture at depths 

 of 10 and 20 centimeters, except in moist depressions. They could not 

 correlate moisture factors between the surface and 20 centimeters with 

 vegetational zonation. Kelley (1925) found that the beach was not 

 salty, because the movement of ground water maintained unmixed fresh- 

 water up to a few centimeters from the ocean's edge. Ranwell (1972) 

 found the water table below dunes convexed and unaffected by tidal 

 fluctuations, suggesting that the ground water table is independent of 

 the sea's influences. 



d. Other Factors . Costing and Billings (1942) reported that 

 temperature, relative humidity, and evaporation varied in different 

 topographic and vegetational zones of the coastal system. However, 



no relation between these factors and vegetational zonation was found. 



e. Conclusions . Many of the factors thought to affect species 

 behavior in the coastal dune system have been studied, but several 

 aspects of this complex ecosystem are still controversial. Careful 

 studies must be conducted before these contradictory points of view 

 can be resolved. 



II. PROCEDURE 



1. Floristics . 



Plant collections were made frequently throughout the period March 

 1974 through May 1975. Diagnostically mature specimens were collected 

 in duplicate, identified, mounted, and labeled. . Labeling information 

 included collection location, date, collectors, common associated 

 species, and a brief habitat description (Radford, Ahles, and Bell, 

 1968) . The duplicate collection has been deposited in the Old 

 Dominion University Herbarium. 



2. Vegetational Studies. 



The objectives of these studies were to (a) delimit and characterize 

 the number and diversity of plant communities that occurred on the 

 study area, (b) determine various phytosociological parameters of these 

 communities through randomized sampling procedures, (c) produce an 

 accurate vegetational map of the study area, (d) characterize the 

 relationships between the delimited communities, and (e) locate and 

 map a representative series of permanent quadrats. 



