On all other coastal beaches where councils are working to prevent sand loss by rowing their dunes, such signage reads DUNE REGENERATION AREA, not bush regeneration. Byron Shire Council are trying to grow a forest on the 100-year-old dunes between Main and Clarkes beaches. Rather than dune regeneration, which is the best natural protective measure against flooding and erosion, they are hellbent on locking down our dunes under trees, lawns, concrete pathways, streets, and buildings. It’s completely counterproductive.
Obviously staff have never read the coastal management guides used by other authorities.
Here are just a few I quickly turned up:
‘Stable dunes do not need to contain thick dense tall trees and shrubs if a good ground cover exists.’ (A Manual of Coastal Dune Management and Rehabilitation, Department of Land and Water Conservation).
‘…Low growing plants, such as grasses, are more effective at stabilising sand than trees or shrubs. This is because 90 per cent of windborne sand is transported in the 0.5m closest to the ground…’ (Tasmanian Coastal Works Manual).
Misconception: A good cover of trees and grasses on the dunes will effectively prevent beach erosion.
Fact: A good cover of vegetation on the frontal dunes landward of a sandy beach traps the sand blown from the beach by the wind and causes the dune to grow and advance towards the sea.
‘The roots of plants and trees have virtually no capacity to reduce the loss of sand from the beach caused by wave attack. The role of dune vegetation is restricted to building the frontal dunes and preventing sand loss from the beach system by wind erosion.’ (The Queensland government Environmental Protection Authority and the Beach Protection Authority Coastal Technical Series 2).
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