Experimental evidence for disturbance as key to the conservation of dune grassland

Coastal dunes are dynamic systems maintained and renewed by disturbance. Concerns have been raised over shrub and tree encroachment, changes in species composition and decreasing species richness in coastal dunes with nitrogen (N) deposition and loss of natural dynamics acknowledged as pressures. We tested the effects of N-deposition and disturbance on Danish dune grassland vegetation. We applied simulated trampling, grazing, blowouts and...