Initial establishment of vegetation in a man‐made coastal area in Denmark

A man‐made coastal area (8 km long, 300 m wide), constructed from seed‐free, marine sand was investigated from 1978 to 1983 as regards relief, soil properties, and establishment of vegetation. The following developments were apparent: The outer shore zone changed from a Cakile ‐dominated vegetation to a sparse and less diverse vegetation. The inner shore zone maintained spontaneous Ammophila as dominant and developed into a mobile dune with changing species. The outer dune slope with planted Ammophila developed into a mobile dune dominated by vigorous Ammophila. The dune zone with planted Ammophila: The outer part developed towards a somewhat fixed dune with increasing diversity. The inner part developed into a diverse and more fixed dune community with mainly Festuca rubra. The inner dune slope developed into a vegetation comprising few species. The grassland zone, initially sown with Festuca rubra and Lolium perenne , changed into a grass‐herb‐vegetation dominated by Festuca rubra , with a slowly increasing number of immigrating species, changing from annuals to perennials, in particular species of Fabaceae and Hippophaë.