Changes in foredune vegetation caused by coastal forests

The need for coastal forests has been emphasized by the increased risk of natural disasters in coastal areas in recent years. To identify the effect of coastal forests on the foredune plant ecosystem, plant species numbers, cation distribution, wind speed, temperature and humidity were compared at the grass-covered dune (D1) and the planting site of Pinus thunbergii (D2) in Sohwang dune field, South Korea. The number of plant species at D2 turned out to be 2.1 times larger than at D1, with a total of 44 taxa, including 29 families, 40 genera, 35 species, 7 varieties, and 2 forms. Terrestrial plants such as Artemisia princeps and Lonicera japonica were commonly found at D2, whereas D1 was covered by typical dune plant species such as Elymus mollis and Carex kobomugi. Decreased wind velocity and changes in nutrients due to the forest of P. thunbergii have resulted in these differences. This study demonstrates that developing coastal forests on foredune environments reduces wind velocity, salt spray and blown sand, and thus, disturbs dune vegetation due to the accelerated introduction of terrestrial and alien plants.