' ABSTRACT 



Experiments at the shore and in the nursery were conducted to develop 

 an accelerated and more effective revegetation program on beach and dune 

 areas. Four grasses show promise: American beachgrass, sea oats, dune 

 panic grass, and saltmeadow cordgrass. Randomized blocks of plantings, 

 with at least three replications, were used in the experiments. Comparison 

 of various methods of producing nursery stock, transplanting at the shore, 

 and fertilization produced positive results shown in figures, tables and 

 photographs. The most practical and economical methods for each step of 

 the program are suggested. 



American Beachgrass is best planted between I November and I April. 

 Plants, of 3 to 5 stems, dipped in a clay slurry, are spaced 18 inches by 

 18 inches by a machine planter. Depth of planting i s 6 to 8 inches. Such 

 a planting, properly fertilized, was used in dune "growing". Fifteen 

 months after planting, a strip 100 feet wide had accumulated 16 cubic 

 yards of sand per running foot of beach. Experiments are being continued. 



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FOREWORD 



Dunes serve as an effective barrier between the sea and low shore 

 areas. They also serve as a storehouse for windblown sand, and release 

 this material to the beach during severe storms. An important feature of 

 the program at CERC is to collect data that will help coastal engineers 

 stabilize existing dunes or build artificial dunes as protective structures, 

 CERC is publishing this paper in order to give a wider dissemination to 

 this significant information about dune "growing". 



This paper was prepared by Professor W. W. Woodhouse, Jr. and R. E. 

 Hanes (a research instructor) of the Department of Soil Sciences, North 

 Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina. 



This paper was originally presented as a progress report on studies 

 initiated in March 1961 under a grant from the Cape Hatteras National 

 Seashore, National Park Service, U. S. Department of The Interior. This 

 support was supplemented by funds from the North Carolina Department of 

 Water Resources in 1962 and 1963. 



The authors express appreciation to the membership of the North 

 Carolina Seashore Commission and the Board of Water Resources for support 

 and encouragement of this work; to the personnel of the Forestry Division, 

 North Carolina Department of Conservation and Development for cooperation 

 in developing supplies of planting stock; to U. 0. Highfill, Dwight Bryan, 

 and N. Berenyi who carried out much of the field operations; and to 

 J. R. Pi land and his staff for the chemical determinations. 



