Abstract
Occupation of sand dunes dates back many thousand years. This chapter provides a summary of the history of human occupation from Mesolithic Times to the present. It considers the way human activities have modified or destroyed the surface of the, sometimes extensive dune fields (Sects. 2.1 and 2.5). It describes the indirect impact these may have on the beach/foredune together with the implications of sediment depletion (Sect. 2.6). The cumulative nature of these developments helps identify a ‘sand dune squeeze’ (Sects. 2.7 and 2.8).
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- 1.
Afforestation is a term usually used to describe tree plantations on land not formerly forested. As it is not always clear if the sand dunes were previously tree-covered or not, this term is used here for any planting designed to prevent or restrict sand mobility.
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Doody, J.P. (2013). Human Occupation, Use and Abuse. In: Sand Dune Conservation, Management and Restoration. Coastal Research Library, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4731-9_2
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