While the sYands on these plots are still quite ragged, continued 

 f ert i I i zat ion will probab I y enab I e the p I ants that st i I I rema i ned at the 

 beginning of the test to completely re-cover the area in another year or 

 two. It remains to be seen whether fertilizers alone will produce growth 

 on this site comparable to that which has been developed elsewhere. It is 

 apparent that lack of nutrients was a major factor in the loss of vigor of 

 the grass on this site. 



There is some slight hint of a response to potassium on this site, 

 which should not be too surprising in view of the relative inaccessibility 

 to salt spray and new sand as compared with most sites used in this study. 



(2) Other grasses . Deteriorating stands of the other species 

 have been observed and the results from trials initiated on these suggest 

 a similar condition as shown below: 



TABLE 9 



Effect of Fertilization on the Regeneration of Stands 

 of Sea Oats and Dune Panic Grass 



Yield lb/acre 1965* 

 Treatment Sea Oats Dune Panic Grass 



Unfertilized 1899 1136 



30-10-0 100 lb/acre, April 9854 9411 



June and September 



^Initiated Apri I 1964 



Data from the same kind of situation with cordgrass are shown in the 

 last column of Table 6. 



It appears from these trials that nutrient supply is of prime import- 

 ance to all four of the principal stabilizing grasses in this area, and 

 that fertil izer alone may be the answer to the stand deterioration that 

 tends to occur as areas become stabilized. It also would seem to follow 

 that fertilization would be less essential on sites receiving large quan- 

 tities of windblown sand. On the other hand, in situations such as that 

 shown in Figures I and 2, a considerable amount of extra growth is required 

 to enable the grass to keep up with the rapid sand encroachment and under 

 such conditions, fertilizer response has been observed repeatedly. For this 

 reason, it appears inadvisable to reduce fertilization appreciably because 

 of sand accumulation. 



5. SEASONAL GROWTH AND NUTRIENT UPTAKE - AMERICAN BEACHGRASS 



Two experiments were initiated in the spring of 1965 designed to 

 obtain estimates of the seasonal pattern of growth and nutrient uptake in 

 a first-year stand of American beachgrass. One of these was located on 



17 



