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Ecosystems Under Stress

The Sefton Coast sand dunes case study

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 1

Overview

The Sefton Coast dunes as the local ecosystem case study: succession and soils, natterjacks and red squirrels, pine planting, erosion at Formby Point, invasive scrub, designations and management evaluated.

What you need to know

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Process

How have humans changed the Sefton dunes?

Process

How is coastal erosion affecting the Sefton dunes?

Process

Which invasive species threaten the Sefton dunes?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Describe the Sefton Coast sand dune ecosystem.

    Model answer

    Between Southport and Crosby on Merseyside lies one of the largest dune systems in England, about 2,100 hectares, with a full succession from embryo and yellow dunes to fixed grey dunes, damp dune slacks, dune heath and planted pine woodland.

  2. 2

    How does succession change soils and vegetation across the Sefton dunes?

    Model answer

    Marram grass traps sand on the yellow dunes; as the dunes are fixed, organic matter builds up and soils become less alkaline and richer in nutrients, allowing grasses, mosses and eventually scrub and trees to grow.

  3. 3

    Which important species does the Sefton Coast support?

    Model answer

    Natterjack toads breeding in the dune slacks, sand lizards, rare plants such as the dune helleborine, and red squirrels in the pine woods at Formby.

  4. 4

    How have humans changed the Sefton dunes?

    Model answer

    Pine plantations were planted to stabilise the sand, parts were used for asparagus growing, golf courses and housing cover large areas, and heavy visitor numbers cause trampling and erosion of the dunes.

  5. 5

    How is coastal erosion affecting the Sefton dunes?

    Model answer

    Formby Point has been eroding by up to about four metres a year in places, removing frontal dunes and exposing older layers.

  6. 6

    How did disease affect the red squirrels of Formby?

    Model answer

    An outbreak of squirrelpox, carried by grey squirrels, killed around 80% of Formby's red squirrels in 2008, though the population later recovered.

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AThe horns have less sand volume, so they move more quickly.
BSand is transported up the gentle windward slope via saltation.
CSand accumulates at the crest.

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