Project properties

Title MSc thesis: Does size matter? Linking sedimentation and plant performance to patch size of dune-forming grasses on Terschelling
Group Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group
Project type thesis
Credits 36
Supervisor(s) Juul Limpens
Examiner(s) Juul Limpens
Contact info Juul.Limpens@wur.nl
Begin date 2017/01/01
End date 2020/12/01
Description In the Netherlands we need continuous sand nourishments to maintain our natural coastal defences. One of the open question is how we can further improve natural defences by stimulating new dune formation. For this we need more information on the first stages of dune formation: the embryo dune stage. Recent results show that embryodune expansion is negatively related to storm frequency and positively to growing season precipitation. This implies that there exist windows of opportunity (low storm frequency, favourable growing seson conditions) for dunes to grow and expand. But how big do the dunes need to be?

In March 2016 we set up a big planting experiment on Terschelling with the help of landscape artists (check out: http://www.slem.org/projecten/windwerk/introductie/). The experiment had both an artistic and scientific goal. The artistic goal was to illustrate dune forming processes for a broader public during the cultural festival Oerol in 2016. The scientific goal was to explore if patch size matters: do big patches of dune-forming grasses grow faster and erode less than small patches? This size-dependancy is important because it will co-determine how quickly the embryodune will evolve into a foredune, which is crucial for flood defence.
After Oerol the planted plots were left to develop further while octocopter monitoring continued. Preliminary results show that big plots accumulated sand at higher rates than small plots. Conversely, plant vitality was higher in the small plots than the big plots, suggesting that sand burial of the plants was too high in the big plots. How the contrasting response of sand accumulation and plant vitality to dune size will modify winter survival is unknown

You will measure different plant performance characteristics (survival, greenness) and relate them to plot size and sand budget (derived from earlier and aerial pictures made with a drone) in a big planting experiment on Terschelling.
Used skills
Requirements good communication skills, independent field work in winter on Terschelling