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View crop Data sheet EcoPortAmmophila arenaria
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| SOURCES Roecklein J 1987 pp 73 [USE, TEXT, DRA, SAL] Duke J 1979 pp 94 [PH, RAIN, TEMP] GROWING PERIOD: Perennial grass. COMMON NAMES: Europaen beachgrass, Marram grass. FURTHER INF: Europaen beachgrass can be found along the coasts of the British Islands and coasts of Europe, excluding arctic and subarctic regions. A separate subspecies (subsp. breviligulata) is found in North America. It is the prime colonist of unstable and mobile sand hills in dune systems, dominating the 'white dune' stage. It is commonly a component of other plant communities at tops of beaches and on very sandy coastal ground. The tussocks have the ability to grow back through covering sand after being buried and can withstand sand accretion rates of up to 1 metre per year. The tussocks trap wind-blown sand and the root and rhizome growth stabilises the mobile dunes. It is drought tolerant, able to grow well above the water table, and tolerant too of the substantial temperature fluctuations on open sand surfaces. It is widely planted to repair or stabilise dune areas, though it can become a problem where introduced outside its native range. |
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