Coastal Conservation And Management: An Ecological Perspective

318 Pages·2001·8.963 MB·English

by  J. Pat Doody (auth.)

COASTAL CONSERVATION AND
MANAGEMENT
An Ecological Perspective
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY SERIES
Series Editor
Dr. F.B. Goldsmith
Ecology and Conservation Unit, Department of Biology, University College
London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
Tel: [phone] x267 1. Fax: [phone].
Email: [email protected]
Dr. E. Duffey OBE
Chez Gouillard, 87320 Bussiere Poitevine, France
The aim of this Series is to provide major summaries of important topics in
conservation. The books have the following features:
• original material
• readable and attractive format
• authoritative, comprehensive, thorough and well-referenced
• based on ecological science
• designed for specialists, students and naturalists
In the last twenty years conservation has been recognized as one of the most
important of all human goals and activities. Since the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development in Rio in June 1992, bio
diversity has been recognized as a major topic within nature conservation,
and each participating country is to prepare its biodiversity strategy. Those
scientists preparing these strategies recognize monitoring as an essential part
of any such strategy. Kluwer Academic Publishers has been prominent in pub
lishing key works on monitoring and biodiversity, and with this new Series
aims to cover subjects such as conservation management, conservation
issues, evaluation of wildlife and biodiversity.
The Series contains texts that are scientific and authoritative and present the
reader with precise, reliable and succinct information. Each volume is scient
ifically based, fully referenced and attractively illustrated. They are readable
and appealing to both advanced students and active members of conservation
organizations.
Further books for the Series are currently being commissioned and those
wishing to contribute, or who wish to know more about the Series, are invited
to contact one of the Editors.
Books already published are listed overleaf ..
Already Published
1. Monitoring Butterflies for Ecology and Conservation
E. Pollard and TJ. Yates (eds) (Hb 1993 o/p, Pb 1995) xiv+274pp.
ISBN 0-412-63460-0
2. Insect Conservation Biology
MJ. Samways (Hb 1994 o/p, Pb 1994) xv+358pp. ISBN 0-412-63450-3
3. Monitoring for Conservation and Ecology
F.B. Goldsmith (ed.) (HblPb 1991, Pb reprinted four times) 275pp.
ISBN 0-412-35600-7
4. Evaluation and Assessment for Conservation: Ecological
Guidelines for Determining Priorities for Nature Conservation
I.F. Spellerberg (Hb 1992 o/p, Pb 1994 reprinted three times) xvi+26Opp.
ISBN 0-412-44280-9
5. Marine Protected Areas: Principles and Techniques for Management
S. Gubbay (ed.) (Hb 1995) xii+ 232pp. ISBN 0-412-59450-1
6. Conservation of Faunal Diversity in Forested Landscapes
RM. DeGraaf and RI. Miller (eds) (Hb 1995) xxi+633pp, with colour
plate section and colour foldout. ISBN 0-412-61890-7
7. Ecology and Conservation of Amphibians
TJ. Beebee (Hb 1996) viii+214pp. ISBN 0-412-62410-9
8. Conservation and the Use of Wildlife Resources
M. Bolton (Hb 1997) xviii + 278pp, with colour plate section.
ISBN 0-412-71350-0
9. Conservation Management of Freshwater Habitats
N.C.Morgan and P.S. Maitland (Hb 1997) ISBN 0-412-59412-0
10. Tropical Rain Forests: A Wider Perspective
F.B. Goldsmith (ed.) (HblPb 1998)
ISBN Hb 0-412-81510-9, Pb 0-412-81520-6
11. Grazing in Conservation Management
M.F. WallisDeVries, J.P. Bakker and S.E. van Wieren (Hb 1998)
ISBN 0-412-47520-0
12. Wildlife Conservation by Sustainable Use
H.H.T. Prins, J. Geu Grootenhuis and T.T. Dolan (Hb 2000)
ISBN 0-412-79730-5
COASTAL CONSERVATION AND
MANAGEMENT
An Ecological Perspective
by
J. Pat Doody
National Coastal Consultants
United Kingdom
SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, LLC
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Doody,J. P.
Coastal conservation and management: an ecological perspective / by J. Pat Doody.
p. cm. - (Conservation biology series ; 13)
Inc1udes bibliographical references (p. ).
ISBN 978-1-4020-7248-2 ISBN 978-94-010-0971-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-010-0971-3
1. Coastal ecology. 2. Nature conservation. 3. Ecosystem management. 1. Title II.
Series
QHS41.S.C6S D662000
S77.S'I-dc21
00-046036
Copyright © 2001 by Springer Science+Business Media New York
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2001
AlI rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission
from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for
the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive
use by the purchaser of the work.
Printed on acid-free paper.
Dedicated to my wife, Jean
Extract from:
Knightly, 1982. Folk Heroes ofB ritain, Thames and Hudson.
The tide, however, rose in the usual manner and without reverence
soaked the King's feet and legs. He, jumping back, then declared, "Thus
may all the inhabitants of the earth see how vain and worthless is the power
of kings." (Knightly 1982)
King Canute (c. 995-1035) King of Norway, Denmark and England
Contents
Preface .................................................................................................................... xvii
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. xix
1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1
1.1 SCOPE OF THE BOOK ................................................................................... 1
1.2 EARLY HUMAN OCCUPATION ...................................................................... 1
1.2.1 Primary' land claim .......................................................................... 4
1.2.2 Converted lands: 'secondary' land claim ........................................... 5
1.3 NATURAL OR MAN-MADE? ......................................................................... 6
1.3.1 The importance ofd omestic stock ...................................................... 7
1.3.2 'Natural' succession .......................................................................... 8
1.4 DEFINING THE COASTAL ZONE .................................................................... 8
1.5 COASTAL LANDSCAPES ............................................................................... 9
1.5.1 'Hard' rock coastal landscapes ........................................................ 10
1.5.2 'Soft' coastal landscapes ................................................................. 11
2. GENERAL PRINCIPLES ......................................................................... 15
2.1 ORIGINS OF COASTAL CONSERVATION ....................................................... 15
2.1.1 Species and habitat protection ......................................................... 15
2.1.2 Assessing nature conservation importance ....................................... 17
2.2 COASTAL MANAGEMENT .......................................................................... 18
2.2.1 The traditional approach to management. ........................................ 19
2.2.2 Coastal complexity .......................................................................... 20
2.2.3 Human influences ........................................................................... 22
2.2.4 Coastal change and conservation management ................................ 22
3. SEA CLIFFS & SEA CLIFF VEGETATION .......................................... 25
3.1 INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE ....................................................................... 25
3.1.1 Habitat definition ............................................................................ 26
3.1.2 Habitattype .................................................................................... 26
3.2 HABITAT DISTRIBUTION ............................................................................ 28
3.2.1 Habitat distribution in Europe ......................................................... 28
3.3 NATURE CONSERVATION VALUE ............................................................... 30
3.3.1 Vegetation ....................................................................................... 31
3.3.2 Plant community transitions and successions ................................... 31
x Contents
3.4 PLANT COMMUNITIES - REGIONAL VARIATION IN EUROPE .......................... 33
3.4.1 'Hard' rocks of the north and west.. ................................................. 33
3.4.2 Calcareous to neutral 'hard' rocks on the Atlantic coasts ofB ritain,
Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal. ........................................................... 34
3.4.3 Vegetation of the 'soft' rock cliffs of the southern North Sea, Channel
coast and Baltic Sea .................................................................................... 35
3.4.4 Cliffs of the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts ............................. 37
3.5 INVERTEBRATES ....................................................................................... 37
3.6 HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND CONSERVATION .................................................. 38
3.6.1 Habitat loss -agricultural.. ............................................................. 39
3.6.2 Habitat loss - tourists, urbanisation and engineering structures ....... 40
3.7 GRAZING ................................................................................................. 41
3. 7.1 Butterfly conservation -a cautionary tale ........................................ 43
3. 7.2 Sea cliffs and the chough ................................................................. 44
3.7.3 Restoration ..................................................................................... 45
3.8 RECREATION ............................................................................................ 46
3.9 OTHER MANAGEMENT ISSUES ................................................................... 47
3.9.1 Tipping ........................................................................................... 47
3.9.2 Invasive species ............................................................................... 48
3.10 CONSERVATION AND COAST PROTECTION .............................................. 48
3.10.1 Economics and conservation ........................................................... 50
3.10.2 Stay back or set back? .................................................................... 51
4. SEABIRDS, SEA CLIFFS & ISLANDS ................................................... 53
4.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 53
4.2 SEABIRD LOCATIONS AND HABITAT ........................................................... 53
4.3 SEABIRD CONSERVATION AND HUMAN ACTIVITIES ..................................... 55
4.3.1 Exploitation .................................................................................... 55
4.3.2 Seabirds and island predators ......................................................... 56
4.3.3 Oil pollution .................................................................................... 57
4.4 CUMULATIVE INTERACTIONS .................................................................... 59
4.4.1 Puffin conservation: grazing, oil pollution and sandeels .................. 59
4.4.2 Fishery management ....................................................................... 60
4.4.3 Impacts on surrounding habitats ..................................................... 61
5. SALTMARSH ........................................................................................... 63
5.1 INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE ....................................................................... 63
5.1.1 Habitat dejinition ............................................................................ 64
5.1.2 Habitat type .................................................................................... 64
5.2 HABITAT DISTRIBUTION ............................................................................ 66
5.2.1 Habitat distribution in Europe ......................................................... 66
5.2.2 Habitat distribution in eastern USA ................................................. 67
5.3 NATURE CONSERVATION VALUE ............................................................... 68
5.3.1 Plant community successions and transitions ................................... 68
5.3.2 Plant community variation .............................................................. 70
5.3.3 Rare plants ..................................................................................... 72
5.3.4 Invertebrates ................................................................................... 73
5.3.5 Breeding birds ................................................................................ 75
Contents xi
5.3.6 Wintering birds ............................................................................... 76
5.3.7 Other animals ................................................................................. 77
5.4 HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND CONSERVATION .................................................. 77
5.5 HISTORICAL LOSSES AND SEA LEVEL CHANGE ............................................ 79
5.5.1 Enclosurefor agriculture (primary land claim) ................................ 79
5.5.2 Saltmarshes and sea level rise ......................................................... 81
5.5.3 The saltmarsh 'squeeze' .................................................................. 82
5.6 GRAZING ON SALTMARSH ......................................................................... 83
5.6.1 Ungrazed / light grazing. ................................................................. 84
5.6.2 Moderate grazing ............................................................................ 85
5.6.3 Heavy grazing ................................................................................. 85
5.6.4 Abandoned (formerly grazed) .......................................................... 87
5.6.5 Deciding on a grazing regime .......................................................... 87
5.7 OTHER MANAGEMENT ISSUES ................................................................... 89
5. 7.1 Turf-cutting ..................................................................................... 89
5.7.2 Hay-making .................................................................................... 89
5.7.3 Samphire gathering ......................................................................... 90
5.8 RECREATION AND ACCESS ........................................................................ 90
5.8.1 Recreation ...................................................................................... 90
5.8.2 Wildf owling ..................................................................................... 91
5.9 POLLUTION .............................................................................................. 92
5.9.1 Oil .................................................................................................. 92
5.9.2 Litter. .............................................................................................. 93
5.10 COMPLEX RELATIONSHIPS ....................................................................... 93
5.10.1 Reeds, bitterns and eels .................................................................. 93
5.10.2 Freshwater and natterjack toad ...................................................... 94
5.11 SEA DEFENCE, SEA LEVEL RISE AND SALTMARSHES ................................... 94
5.11.1 Maintaining the line ofd efence ....................................................... 95
5.11.2 Managed retreat ............................................................................. 95
6. SPARTINA ANGLICA -A CASE OF INVASION .................................... 99
6.1 ORIGINS AND COLONISATION .................................................................... 99
6.1.1 Colonisation ................................................................................... 99
6.1.2 The nature ofS part ina invasion ..................................................... 100
6.2 NATURECONSERVATIONIMPLICATIONS .................................................. 101
6.2.1 Plant species effects ...................................................................... 101
6.2.2 Ornithological effects .................................................................... 102
6.3 SPARTINA IN THE USA. ............................................................................ 103
6.4 METHODS OF MANAGEMENT ................................................................... 103
6.4.1 Lessons from an amenity beach ..................................................... 105
6.5 SPARTINA FRIEND OR FOE? ....................................................................... 105
6.5.1 Benefits ......................................................................................... 106
6.5.2 Conservation issues ....................................................................... 106
6.5.3 'Die-back' ..................................................................................... 107
6.6 Is THERE A CASE FOR CONTROL? ............................................................. 108
7. SAND DUNE. ••••.....•.•...................••••........•..•..••..................•..................... 111
7.1 INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE ..................................................................... 111