Direct seeding of grass species for sand dune stabilization on the mid-Atlantic sea coast

Abstract

The stabilization of moving sand dunes at Provincetown, Massachusetts, depends, to a large degree, upon the environmental factors of wind, temperature and rainfall. Direct seedings of grasses for the purpose of stilling these moving dunes can be wiped out totally by the severe northeast and northwest winds which occur in the very early spring. In this study, 9 different mulches were used with 12 grass varieties to examine their value in the establishment and survival of vegetation. The grasses were seeded with a grain drill, the planting units of which had been modified to incorporate the seed to a minimum depth of 5 cm. Evaluation of the mulches showed that the sodium silicate plots had slightly better grass emergence and establishment than the plots with the other mulches. In the unmulched check plots, grasses established themselves as well as or better than in some of the mulched plots. The species that survived, grew well, and controlled the drifting sand were coastal panicgrass, tall fescue, weeping lovegrass, and switchgrass. The study showed that large dune areas can be successfully seeded provided the right grass species are used, fertility levels are good initially and maintained, and provided, also, that climatic factors cooperate.