7.8 Dune revegetation at Stuarts Point

1. Name and locate the coastal dune management area discussed n this unit. Stuarts Point is located on the mid-north coast of N.S.W.
2.Using the material  in the unit, construct a timeline that highlights the changes in the Stuarts Point sand dune ecosystem

3. Describe the role of the local community in managing the sand dune area. The community first approached the Soil Conservation Service of New South Wales for help in maintaining the sand dunes. They were provided with plant seedlings but this attempt failed when cattle grazing ruined everything.
4. Why is the sand dune area important to the people of Stuarts Point? It is important because it provides a sand dune barrier between the sea and the Macleay River
5. Using 7.35 describe the natural vegetation succession on the sand dunes On the very front of the dunes you have grasses there to stabilise the dry sands. As you move further up the dunes the plants start to get bigger and bigger until they become long-lived trees.
6. Explain why the vegetation is so important in stabilising sand dunes The roots from the vegetation will hold the sand together and give the dunes more stability.
7. What impact did cattle grazing have on the sand dune area? The cattle grazing destroyed the original sand drift control measures. They killed the plant seedlings that had been planted earlier.
8. Describe the changes to the sand dune area that would have occurred after cattle grazing. Identify the geographical processes that would have been altered as a result of the removal of vegetation from the dunes After the cattle grazing the sand dunes would have lost the stability they had managed to build up and the sand dune barrier became very fragile. As a result the dune barrier was breached on three separate occasion by heavy seas.
9. Identify the groups involved in the rehabilitation program Department of Lands, Department of Public Works, Macleay Shire Council and the Soil Conservation Service of New South Wales
10. Outline the stages involved in the management program undertaken to re-establish the coastal vegetation Firstly a tractor was used to form a small foredune approx. 1.8m high. Secondly a dune forming fence was constructed on top of that to help trap wind-blown sand. Lastly the foredune was stabilised with coastal spinifex and marram grass.
12. Use these maps to explain the geographical processes that would have caused the river mouth to silt up in 1900 Longshore dirft would have carried sand up to the northern river mouth and caused it to silt up.
13. Evaluate the success of the revegetation program in the following areas: a) stabilising the sand dunes It was very successful with the sand dunes having now more than adequate stability b) protecting the Macleay River ecosystem With the sand dunes much stronger now the Macleay River is now safe. c) benifiting groups from the local community Local groups now don't have to worry about the sea breaking through into the river
14. A community is concerned about an unstable sand  dune area that is being blown by the wind in the direction of their town. As you have studied the stabilisation of the sand dunes at Stuart's Point, you have been approached to prepare a multimedia presentation on the topic.
Vegetation stabilises sand dunes by covering them from the wind and stopping all the sand being blown away.
The vegetation succession works like this. On the front dunes you have grasses there to protect them from the wind. Further back you start finding shrubs and short-lived trees or "secondary species" . Finally at the very back of the dunes you find long-lived trees that live in the protection of the dunes and secondary species.