The management of vegetation in natural and semi-natural habitats is always problematical, and in the naturally unstable and changing communities of sand dune systems, it is even more difficult. Decisions about the need to intervene require careful study and analysis of the existing vegetation, as well as knowledge of historical changes, both natural and man-made.
The general aim is usually to maintain the greatest diversity of plant communities naturally found within the dunes. However, problems can arise when man-made communities such as conifer plantations support their own community of interesting plant and animal species.
The types of intervention most commonly made on duneland areas are management of existing woodland, clearance of scrub, and maintenance of grassland areas by mowing, grazing or burning. These are discussed further below. The transplanting of marram and other erosion-control measures, described in detail in Vegetation establishment, are normally urgent tasks for which the need is clear-cut.
