Ayla Mills
[email protected]
Restoring damaged natural habitats, i.e. habitat restoration, is a growing area within the natural resource field. As the human population continues to exponentially grow more natural areas will become developed. Therefore what remains of natural areas will need to be managed effectively and efficiently. Native plants that have co-evolved with their pollinators over millions of years are being replaced by aggressive invasive plant species. Restoring native species habitat is very important but it's an expensive and laborious task. Research that evaluates the methods for restoring native species habitat is in great demand. Natural resource managers need well documented strategies for carrying out the complex task of restoring habitat. The goal of my research is to evaluate the two different invasive species removal methods being used at Gold Bluffs Beach. My research will help develop a conservation protocol that will allow land managers to effectively deal with one of the worst invasive plants in coastal ecosystems. The removal of European beachgrass(Ammophila arenaria) on the West Coast will not only help restore endangered species habitat, but it will also help preserve one of the most beautiful ecosystems in California, the coastal dunes.
My study area is Gold Bluffs Beach within Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in Humboldt County, CA. The dunes at Gold Bluffs Beach are home to many animals, including the threatened Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) and many rare plant species such as the pink sand verbena(Abronia umbellata var. breviflora). This ten mile coastal dune habitat, surrounded by old growth redwoods(Sequoia sempervirens), has become heavily invaded by A. arenaria. This aggressive grass was planted along the Pacific Coast from the late 1800s to the mid-1900s for sand stabilization. A. arenaria has stabilized and altered dune ecology and morphology from Santa Barbara to Washington.
At Gold Bluffs Beach, roughly 50% of the 283 hectare dune system is covered by this invasive grass. If left unmanaged, this special habitat would become a monoculture of dense A. arenaria. The land managers of California State Park's North Coast Redwood District, with funding from a large grant, are planning to remove the A. arenaria using mechanical (excavators and dozers) and manual (hand-pulling) removal techniques. The goal of my research is to evaluate the effectiveness of the two different removal methods (heavy equipment and hand-pulling) being used to remove the A. arenaria at Gold Bluffs Beach. I will accomplish this task by monitoring vegetation and photo documenting before, during, and after removal. Documenting which removal method is most effective, which at this point hasn’t been done, will be imperative for the proper, future management of Pacific coastal dunes and the rare species that rely on them.
My study area is Gold Bluffs Beach within Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in Humboldt County, CA. The dunes at Gold Bluffs Beach are home to many animals, including the threatened Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) and many rare plant species such as the pink sand verbena(Abronia umbellata var. breviflora). This ten mile coastal dune habitat, surrounded by old growth redwoods(Sequoia sempervirens), has become heavily invaded by A. arenaria. This aggressive grass was planted along the Pacific Coast from the late 1800s to the mid-1900s for sand stabilization. A. arenaria has stabilized and altered dune ecology and morphology from Santa Barbara to Washington.
At Gold Bluffs Beach, roughly 50% of the 283 hectare dune system is covered by this invasive grass. If left unmanaged, this special habitat would become a monoculture of dense A. arenaria. The land managers of California State Park's North Coast Redwood District, with funding from a large grant, are planning to remove the A. arenaria using mechanical (excavators and dozers) and manual (hand-pulling) removal techniques. The goal of my research is to evaluate the effectiveness of the two different removal methods (heavy equipment and hand-pulling) being used to remove the A. arenaria at Gold Bluffs Beach. I will accomplish this task by monitoring vegetation and photo documenting before, during, and after removal. Documenting which removal method is most effective, which at this point hasn’t been done, will be imperative for the proper, future management of Pacific coastal dunes and the rare species that rely on them.