European Sand Belt Research Articles

Understanding a continuous inland aeolian deposition: a closer look into a chronological and sedimentary record of the north-eastern European Sand Belt

Abstract A belt of inland aeolian sand sediments termed the European Sand Belt (ESB) runs throughout Europe, and its western part has gained greater attention, while attention to the eastern part has been limited. Whereas clear aeolian–paleosol sequences that reflect colder–-armer phases are known from its western part, such alternation is practically undetectable in the eastern part. This study combines the available chronological and sedimentary data from the north-eastern part of the ESB, with a special focus on the Baltic State region. Here, aeolian deposition took place between 15.9±1.0 ka and 8.5±0.5 ka, almost instantly following a deglaciation and drainage of paleolakes, and thereafter practically without longer-term stability. Lack of paleosols is likely due to the prevalence of pioneer vegetation, reflecting dry and cold climate conditions, and thus giving limited opportunity for soil development.

An open strip-field system at its tipping point in the German-Dutch River Dinkel catchment. Part 1

ABSTRACTThree questions have been addressed. Firstly, where in the pre-nineteenth-century landscape did farmers hold strips, camps, meadows and shares in the commons? Secondly, did farmers each own strips and camps or were some specialised strip and others exclusively ‘camp’ farmers? Finally, can we corroborate or reject one of the alternative hypotheses: strip-field-first versus camp-first. The area of interest is the current cadastral district cum medieval parish Epe at today’s German-Dutch border as pars pro toto for the surrounding area of about 100 km diameter in the North-West European cover sand belt. Our key data source was the 1827 cadastre complemented by the historical topographic map and geological, soil and elevation maps. For population estimates, we used six tax registers from 1499–1750. All parcels per farmstead were identified in the cadastral registry, farms located on parcel maps and hamlet territories delineated as the aggregate of its farms. The following farm features were extracted from the cadastre and averaged per settlement: number of strips and strip-fields, parcel type, farm size, tenure, number of meadows, oak camps, crop camps, and pasture camps. Next, the following landscape features were identified from the map set per settlement: farmstead pattern, type of settlement, commons, strip-field, soil, and watercourse. We present the introduction, the materials and methods section, the historical and landscape context in Part 1, followed in Part 2 by our findings, a discussion, a hypothetical narrative consistent with our findings, and answers to our research questions.

Controls on late-Holocene drift-sand dynamics: The dominant role of human pressure in the Netherlands.

Holocene drift-sand activity in the northwest European sand belt is commonly directly linked to population pressure (agricultural activity) or to climate change (e.g. storminess). In the Pleistocene sand areas of the Netherlands, small-scale Holocene drift-sand activity began in the Mesolithic, whereas large-scale sand drifting started during the Middle Ages. This last phase not only coincides with the intensification of farming and demographic pressure but also is commonly associated with a colder climate and enhanced storminess. This raises the question to what extent drift-sand activity can be attributed to either human activities or natural forcing factors. In this study, we compare the spatial and temporal patterns of drift-sand occurrence for the four characteristic Pleistocene sand regions in the Netherlands for the period between 1000 BC and AD 1700. To this end, we compiled a new supra-regional overview of drift-sand activity based on age estimates (14C, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), archaeological and historical ages). The occurrence of sand drifting was then compared in time and space with historical-route networks, relative vegetation openness and climate. Results indicate a constant but low drift-sand activity between 1000 BC and AD 1000, interrupted by a remarkable decrease in activity around the BC/AD transition. It is evident that human pressure on the landscape was most influential on initiating sand drifting: this is supported by more frequent occurrences close to routes and the uninterrupted increase of drift-sand activity from AD 900 onwards, a period of high population density and large-scale deforestation. Once triggered by human activities, this drift-sand development was probably further intensified several centuries later during the cold and stormier ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA; AD 1570–1850).

Anthropogenic influence on rates of aeolian dune activity within the northern European Sand Belt and socio-economic feedbacks over the last ~2500 years

In North-Western Europe, Pleistocene sand sheets have been reactivated during phases of Holocene deforestation and agricultural land use. Although there are temporal overlaps between anthropogenic activity and sand sheet reactivation, the root cause and subsequent feedbacks between aeolian activity and societal response remain largely unknown. Here, we seek to establish cause and effect by examining the detailed co-variation in both timing and magnitude of aeolian and anthropogenic activity through the quantification of Holocene dune sediments in combination with archaeological and pollen records. These records indicate a series of complex phases of aeolian activity followed by landscape stabilization, which we attribute primarily to changing patterns of human impact. We find that a steady increase in dune deposition rates in the Medieval Period corresponds to an increase in settlement activity and deforestation (~AD 1000–1500). At their peak, Medieval deposition rates were 3.4 times larger than during the late Pleistocene, the period experiencing the most favourable natural conditions for aeolian sediment transport. Prior to the Medieval Period, relative land-surface stability (represented by a depositional hiatus) persisted from the late Pleistocene until the Roman Iron Age Period (AD 0–400). Deforestation to fuel iron production had minor impact on aeolian activity, as indicated by the lowest recorded deposition rate (0.12 ± 0.02 t/ha/a). Following the Medieval Period peak in deposition rates, aeolian activity diminished rapidly and coincided with the abandonment of nearby human settlement. This sequence of events provides evidence of a direct positive feedback in which Medieval agricultural overexploitation favoured aeolian activity that rendered the landscape practically unworkable for cropping agriculture. Based on our findings and a comprehensive review of Northern European sand belt activity, we interpret a very high sensitivity of aeolian activity to past and present human impact and argue that unsustainable land-use practices have been the cause for widespread settlement abandonment.

Post-Saalian transformation of dry valleys in eastern Europe: An example from NE Poland

The studies were conducted in a dry valley in NE Poland. They were aimed at determining the origin of this structure and tracing the processes that have shaped the dry valley in a time span of about 130 ka. The research included detailed geological mapping, including piercing of a number of boreholes and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys. The obtained material was pollen analysed, OSL dated, and the grain size distribution and the morphoscopy of sand quartz grains were investigated; additionally the organic matter (OM) content was determined. Based on the obtained results it was concluded that the structure currently occupied by sediments of the dry valley was formed during the Warta Stadial of the Odranian Glaciation (Saalian; MIS 6) as a glacial tunnel valley. Small, probably isolated depressions functioned in the dry valley bottom after the ice sheet retreat. The sediments record a full succession of climate oscillations from the Eemian Interglacial (MIS 5e) (pollen zones E1 to E7) through the Early Vistulian (MIS 5a-5d) to MIS 4. In the Early Vistulian, the depressions functioned as lakes, or got shallower and were replaced by peat-bogs, depending on the climate conditions. During MIS 4, the bottom of the dry valley was subjected to erosion as a result of concentrated water flow. This caused draining of the existing depressions and their incorporation within the flow. Probably during MIS 3, solifluction was activated on the slopes of the dry valley. During LGM, permafrost aggradation occurred in the study area, recorded by two generations of epigenetic sand wedges and development of aeolian processes. In contrast to analogous processes within the European Sand Belt, the latter processes acted for a short time and only locally. The final record are Holocene soils. It seems that the analysed valley is a good example of palaeoenvironmental conditions in Eastern Europe.

The north-eastern aeolian ‘European Sand Belt’ as potential record of environmental changes: A case study from Eastern Latvia and Southern Estonia

Abstract The Latvian and Estonian inland dunes belong to the north-eastern part of the ‘European Sand Belt’ (ESB). These dunes are widely distributed over broad glaciolacustrine plains and Late Glacial alluvial deltas, considered to be potential sources for the aeolian material. Little is known about these aeolian sediments and their substratum; here we present a detailed sedimentary structural and textural characterisation together with a luminescence-based chronology. Through a comparison between grain-size, rounding of quartz grains and surface characteristics in medium/coarse (0.5–0.8 mm) sand, and the light mineral content, we found an alternation of aeolian and periglacial components. Further, short-lasting aeolian abrasion and/or transportation periods, and a significant contribution of a nearby sediment source are suggested. Luminescence dating points to aeolian sand accumulation and dune formation between ∼16 ka and ∼9 ka. However, we also observed some presumably watertable controlled environmental conditions at ∼13 ka; this corresponds with the occurrence of an ice-dammed/proglacial lake.

Palaeohydrological reconstruction (1500–2000 AD) of a drift sand landscape using pedogeomorphological and historical data (Campine area, NE Belgium)

In order to build confidence in describing the hydrological cycle under future global change, hydrological models not only need to be calibrated and validated with recent data, but should also be tested against different boundary conditions from the past. This requires building a dataset of hydrological state variables against which the modelling output can be tested. We use pedogeomorphological and historical data to monitor hydraulic heads at specific time slices during the last 500years for a sandy interfluve in the Nete catchment, NE Belgium. The nature of the archive is temporally and spatially highly discontinuous but allows to observe a systematic drop in phreatic groundwater levels during the second half of the 19th century. It is concluded that the approach yields promising results and that it might be of use elsewhere in drift sand landscapes across the European sand belt.

Useful plants from the site Lutomiersk–Koziówki near Łódź (central Poland) with special reference to the earliest find of Xanthium strumarium L. seeds in Europe

Archaeological features at the multi-culture site of Lutomiersk–Koziówki 3a-c in central Poland contained preserved charred plant macro-remains. The site is located within the “Central European sand belt” characterised by sandy terraces and dunes, nowadays covered mainly by podzols and anthropogenically changed soils. The samples come from pits dated to the Middle Bronze Age (MBA, ca. 18th–14th centuries BC), the Late Bronze Age (LBA, ca. 10th–8th centuries BC), and the Roman Iron Age (RIA). The most intensive occupation was connected with the development of the LBA settlement of Lusatian culture. During that time mostly peas (Pisum sativum) and millet (Panicum miliaceum) were cultivated while remains of large-grained crops like einkorn (Triticum monococcum), emmer (Triticum dicoccum), spelt (Triticum spelta), and barley (Hordeum vulgare) were not common. In that time goosefoot (Chenopodium album) and wild buckwheat (Fallopia convolvulus) were probably used as a source of food. In the Roman Iron Age, the presence of those plants decreased and rye (Secale cereale) appeared, becoming the most common cultivated plant besides barley. The unique find of cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium) seeds in the LBA samples was possibly connected with their useful properties, primarily as medicinal plants and secondarily as a source of oil. The cocklebur remains were probably processed, but no by-products and no whole fruits were noted. The context of these finds is exceptional compared with the other samples from the site, possibly reflecting medicinal activities of the people. Taking into account the history and migration of the cocklebur in Europe during the Holocene, it must be emphasized that the charred seeds from Lutomiersk–Koziówki are currently the oldest radiocarbon-dated finds in Europe (2745±30 BP, ca. 975–818cal. BC) and can reflect distant contacts of the settlers mostly with south-eastern Europe although eastern routes cannot be excluded as well.

Reconstruction of sediment provenance and transport processes from the surface textures of quartz grains from Late Pleistocene sandurs and an ice-marginal valley in NW Poland

Abstract During the Pomeranian phase of the Weichselian glaciation (~17-16 ka), the Toruń-Eberswalde ice-marginal valley (NW Poland and easternmost Germany) drained water from the Pomeranian ice sheet, while intensive aeolian processes took place across Europe in the foreland of the Scandinavian ice sheet (‘European Sand Belt’). The micromorphology of the quartz grains in the Toruń-Eberswalde ice-marginal valley shows no traces of these aeolian processes, or only vague signs of aeolian abrasion. This is unique among the aeolian sediments in other Pleistocene ice-marginal valleys in this part of Europe. The study of the surfaces of the quartz grains shows that the supply of grains by streams from the south was minimal, which must be ascribed to the climate deterioration during the Last Glacial Maximum, which resulted in a decrease of the discharge of these extraglacial rivers to the ice-marginal valley.

Climate evolution during the Pleniglacial and Late Glacial as recorded in quartz grain morphoscopy of fluvial to aeolian successions of the European Sand Belt

Abstract We present results of research into fluvial to aeolian successions at four sites in the foreland of the Last Glacial Maximum, i.e., the central part of the “European Sand Belt”. These sites include dune fields on higher-lying river terraces and alluvial fans. Sediments were subjected to detailed lithofacies analyses and sampling for morphoscopic assessment of quartz grains. Based on these results, three units were identified in the sedimentary succession: fluvial, fluvio-aeolian and aeolian. Material with traces of aeolian origin predominate in these sediments and this enabled conclusions on the activity of aeolian processes during the Pleniglacial and Late Glacial, and the source of sediment supply to be drawn. Aeolian processes played a major role in the deposition of the lower portions of the fluvial and fluvio-aeolian units. Aeolian material in the fluvial unit stems from aeolian accumulation of fluvial sediments within the valley as well as particles transported by wind from beyond the valley. The fluvio-aeolian unit is composed mainly of fluvial sediments that were subject to multiple redeposition, and long-term, intensive processing in an aeolian environment. In spite of the asynchronous onset of deposition of the fluvio-aeolian unit, it is characterised by the greatest homogeneity of structural and textural characteristics. Although the aeolian unit was laid down simultaneously, it is typified by the widest range of variation in quartz morphoscopic traits. It reflects local factors, mainly the origin of the source material, rather than climate. The duration of dune-formation processes was too short to be reflected in the morphoscopy of quartz grains.

Age and sedimentary record of inland eolian sediments in Lithuania, NE European Sand Belt

We present a study based on four inland eolian locations in Eastern, Central and Southeastern Lithuania belonging to the northeastern part of the ‘European Sand Belt’ (ESB). Although there have been several previous studies of the ESB, this north-eastern extension has not been investigated before in any detail. The sedimentary structural–textural features are investigated and a chronology was derived using optically stimulated luminescence on both quartz and feldspar. The sedimentary structures and the rounding and surface characteristics of the quartz grains argue for a predominance of eolian transport. Additionally, some structural alternations and a significant contribution of non-eolian grains are interpreted as inherited local glacial/glaciofluvial-bearing lithologies.Three main (glaciolacustrine–) eolian phases are distinguished based on the position in the landscape and the luminescence ages: (1) An older eolian series around 15 to 16ka, possibly correlated with the cold GS-2a event according to the GRIP stratigraphy, and (2) a younger eolian series around 14.0ka, possibly representing the GI-1d and 1c events. The older eolian series is underlain by (3) a glaciolacustrine–eolian series for which the period of deposition remains uncertain due to the significant discrepancy between the ages based on quartz and feldspar.

A search for shocked quartz grains in the Allerød‐Younger Dryas boundary layer

AbstractThe Younger Dryas impact hypothesis suggests that multiple airbursts or extraterrestrial impacts occurring at the end of the Allerød interstadial resulted in the Younger Dryas cold period. So far, no reproducible, diagnostic evidence has, however, been reported. Quartz grains containing planar deformation features (known as shocked quartz grains), are considered a reliable indicator for the occurrence of an extraterrestrial impact when found in a geological setting. Although alleged shocked quartz grains have been reported at a possible Allerød‐Younger Dryas boundary layer in Venezuela, the identification of shocked quartz in this layer is ambiguous. To test whether shocked quartz is indeed present in the proposed impact layer, we investigated the quartz fraction of multiple Allerød‐Younger Dryas boundary layers from Europe and North America, where proposed impact markers have been reported. Grains were analyzed using a combination of light and electron microscopy techniques. All samples contained a variable amount of quartz grains with (sub)planar microstructures, often tectonic deformation lamellae. A total of one quartz grain containing planar deformation features was found in our samples. This shocked quartz grain comes from the Usselo palaeosol at Geldrop Aalsterhut, the Netherlands. Scanning electron microscopy cathodoluminescence imaging and transmission electron microscopy imaging, however, show that the planar deformation features in this grain are healed and thus likely to be older than the Allerød‐Younger Dryas boundary. We suggest that this grain was possibly eroded from an older crater or distal ejecta layer and later redeposited in the European sandbelt. The single shocked quartz grain at this moment thus cannot be used to support the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis.

The depositional conditions of the fluvio-aeolian succession during the last climate minimum based on the examples from Poland and NW Ukraine

The object of the study was the fluvio-aeolian sedimentary succession in eight sites located in the central part of the European Sand Belt, in Poland and NW Ukraine. Based on the lithofacies, pedological and morphoscopic analyses, the analyses of frost structures and grain size as well as the TL, IR-OSL and 14C dating, three lithofacies complexes deposited at the turn of the Weichselian and Holocene were documented. The fluvial complex was deposited in the Pleniglacial within a sandbed braided river, which in the final stage of deposition of the complex was transformed into an anastomosing river. These rivers functioned in continuous permafrost coverage.The fluvio-aeolian complex was the result of aeolian deposition and fluvial redeposition, resulting from the degradation of continuous permafrost at the turn of the Pleni- and Late Glacial. These processes operated in the areas abandoned by regular flow. The aeolian complex was accumulated following the development of aeolian sand forms – sandy and silt covers as well as parabolic and longitudinal dunes, after the complete degradation of permafrost at the end of the Late Glacial and Holocene. Improving climatic conditions were expressed by the presence of fossil levels of initial gley soil in the roof of the fluvio-aeolian complex as well as poorly developed podzolic and colluvial soils in the aeolian complex.

Late Quaternary (15 ka to present) development of a sandy landscape in the Mol area, Campine region, north‐east Belgium

ABSTRACTThe geomorphological analysis of two sections cut into a sandy landscape in north‐east Belgium enabled the establishment of a chronology for a sequence of events during the last 15 ka that illustrate the polycyclical nature of the evolution of such landscapes. Field descriptions, analytical sediment and soil characterization, and pollen analysis are combined with the optically stimulated luminescence dating method to unravel the recent geomorphological history of the investigated site. The principal results include apparently discontinuous sand deposition between ∼15 and 12 ka, landscape stabilization and Podzol formation between ∼12 and 1 ka, the development of a drift sand landscape between ∼650 and 200 a, and renewed stabilization over the last two centuries. The results are discussed in the light of climate, land‐use and vegetation changes and compared with findings at similar sites in the European Sand Belt.

Periglacial structures within fluvio‐aeolian successions of the end of the Last Glaciation – examples from SE Poland and NW Ukraine

The nature of permafrost and related environmental conditions in the Weichselian Late Pleniglacial and Lateglacial are reconstructed based on the assessment of frost structures that are best documented in the Loess Belt and in plateau areas composed of glacial till. Investigations were conducted in the central‐eastern part of the European Sand Belt (SE Poland and NW Ukraine) on a fluvio‐aeolian sedimentary succession and took into account its chronological context given by luminescence dating. Various generations of periglacial structures found in these deposits indicate not only the development of permafrost (ice‐wedge pseudomorphs) and decreased humidity (composite wedge casts) but also the degradation of permafrost (large‐scale involutions) and, finally, the establishment of deep seasonal frost (frost cracks). The diversity of structures in the study region appears to result from local conditions rather than increasing continentality of climate towards the east.

Cosmic impact or natural fires at the Allerød–Younger Dryas boundary: A matter of dating and calibration

Wittke et al. (1) present evidence of a major cosmic impact at the onset of the Younger Dryas (YD) episode, including some markers found in the top of the well-known Usselo marker horizon (UH). This finding is contrary to our extensive radiocarbon dating effort from this horizon (2), which shows that the UH at Aalsterhut postdates the onset of the YD. Furthermore, Wittke et al. (1) misinterpret the origin of the UH: this horizon is a well-defined paleosoil that formed during the Allerod and the early YD in the top part of coversand. This coversand was deposited before the Allerod, during cold and dry conditions, and is part of the European Sandbelt. Wildfires were common and occurred throughout this period, rather than synchronously with the onset of the YD (3).

The environmental variability in north-western Europe between 35 and 20 ka BP reconstructed from terrestrial mollusc faunas and its relationship with the presence/absence of human settlements

The object of the study was the fluvio-aeolian sedimentary succession in eight sites located in the central part of the European Sand Belt, in Poland and NW Ukraine. Based on the lithofacies, pedological and morphoscopic analyses, the analyses of frost structures and grain size as well as the TL, IR-OSL and 14C dating, three lithofacies complexes deposited at the turn of the Weichselian and Holocene were documented. The fluvial complex was deposited in the Pleniglacial within a sandbed braided river, which in the final stage of deposition of the complex was transformed into an anastomosing river. These rivers functioned in continuous permafrost coverage.The fluvio-aeolian complex was the result of aeolian deposition and fluvial redeposition, resulting from the degradation of continuous permafrost at the turn of the Pleni- and Late Glacial. These processes operated in the areas abandoned by regular flow. The aeolian complex was accumulated following the development of aeolian sand forms – sandy and silt covers as well as parabolic and longitudinal dunes, after the complete degradation of permafrost at the end of the Late Glacial and Holocene. Improving climatic conditions were expressed by the presence of fossil levels of initial gley soil in the roof of the fluvio-aeolian complex as well as poorly developed podzolic and colluvial soils in the aeolian complex.

Dunes of the Toruń Basin against palaeogeographical conditions of the Late Glacial and Holocene

Dunes are generally found in Poland either along the seacoast or inland, mainly in river valleys and on glaciofluvial outwash fans. The position of the dune fields of the Toruń Basin is unique also due to the fact that it is dominated by large dune forms, while the western part of the European sand belt is dominated by aeolian coversands. Dunes in the Toruń Basin are found on all terraces and make up vast clusters (complexes). W. Mrózek (1958) delimited there six dune fields. The dunes located in the Toruń Basin take the shape of crescent (parabolic) forms, simple ramparts (longitudinal and transversal) and irregular hilly forms. Additionally, there are numerous vast and plain areas covered with aeolian sand up to 4-5 m deep, which contain scattered irregular low dunes. The dunes of the Toruń Basin are mainly built of fine-grained and medium-grained sands which come from the local substratum of fluvioglacial and river deposits. The results of the studies on aeolian deposits carried out in the in Europe indicate that the earliest aeolian series (Older Coversand I, van der Hammen 1971) were deposited as early as Late Pleniglacial. In Poland this series has not been recognized, although the river deposits of that age have a larger content of quartz grain abraded in aeolian environment (Kozarski 1990; Manikowska 1991; Goździk 1991). New research claims in the Toruń Basin that the dunes formed chifly in the Younger Dryas, but probably also in the Older Dryas and even in the Preboreal.

Dunes of the Toruń Basin against palaeogeographical conditions of the Late Glacial and Holocene

Dunes are generally found in Poland either along the seacoast or inland, mainly in river valleys and on glaciofluvial outwash fans. The position of the dune fields of the Toruń Basin is unique also due to the fact that it is dominated by large dune forms, while the western part of the European sand belt is dominated by aeolian coversands. Dunes in the Toruń Basin are found on all terraces and make up vast clusters (complexes). W. Mrózek (1958) delimited there six dune fields. The dunes located in the Toruń Basin take the shape of crescent (parabolic) forms, simple ramparts (longitudinal and transversal) and irregular hilly forms. Additionally, there are numerous vast and plain areas covered with aeolian sand up to 4-5 m deep, which contain scattered irregular low dunes. The dunes of the Toruń Basin are mainly built of fine-grained and medium-grained sands which come from the local substratum of fluvioglacial and river deposits. The results of the studies on aeolian deposits carried out in the in Europe indicate that the earliest aeolian series (Older Coversand I, van der Hammen 1971) were deposited as early as Late Pleniglacial. In Poland this series has not been recognized, although the river deposits of that age have a larger content of quartz grain abraded in aeolian environment (Kozarski 1990; Manikowska 1991; Goździk 1991). New research claims in the Toruń Basin that the dunes formed chifly in the Younger Dryas, but probably also in the Older Dryas and even in the Preboreal.

The “European Aeolian Sand Belt”: Geoconservation of Drift Sand Landscapes

The aeolian geological record for Europe, as reflected in the “European sand belt” in the northern European Lowlands, which extends from Britain to the Polish–Russian border and beyond, is known in detail. Mainly in the western part of this sand belt, extensive Late Holocene moving sand areas developed due to overexploitation (deforestation, sheep and cattle grazing, cutting of heather sods for plaggen agriculture, etc.) of the sandy soils. In the past, these man-made deserts were considered as wastelands as moving sands threatened to cover arable fields and villages. However, the majority of these drift sand regions have now been stabilized by a natural or artificial vegetation cover. In the Netherlands, almost all dune fields were transformed into pine (Pinus sylvestris) plantations during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Of the originally approximately 950 km2 of actively moving drift sand areas, only 15/16 km2 remains today. It is increasingly realized that these small remaining areas represent a unique ecosystem characterized by current geomorphic (aeolian) processes, primary vegetation succession, and a special floral and faunal composition adapted to extreme environmental conditions. New perceptions in nature management and geoconservation led to the view that reactivating some of the formerly bare drift sand areas will strongly increase their geomorphological, ecological, and educational importance. Careful and efficient management requires detailed knowledge of the interaction of the many geomorphological, ecological, and land use processes. After reviewing the distribution, origin, and geomorphic properties of drift sand landscapes, reactivation projects and plans in the Netherlands are discussed.