Project

Dendrogeomorphology as a tool to reconstruct drift sand dynamics

Drift-sand areas form the basis of several important habitat types under Natura 2000. Yet, most drift-sand areas in Europe are consolidated due to reforestation and vegetation encroachment, and only a few square kilometres of active, open drift sands remain.

Drift-sand areas form the basis of several important habitat types under Natura 2000. Yet, most drift-sand areas in Europe are consolidated due to reforestation and vegetation encroachment, and only a few square kilometres of active, open drift sands remain. For the conservation of these areas precise information is needed on the dynamics of aeolian sediment transport in relation to external factors such as climate, land use and landscape characteristics. In order to study past drift-sand dynamics, no dating techniques were available with the required high temporal resolution and precision. In this project, we use a new dendrogeomorphological approach using wood anatomy to reconstruct drift-sand dynamics. In one of the largest remaining drift-sand areas in the Netherlands- the Loonse en Drunense Duinen- European oaks (Quercus robur L. and Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) are studied. These oaks are growing amongst others, in nabkhar dunes and parabolic dunes. Abrupt wood anatomical changes of these oaks show the possibility to be used as precise indicators of exposure and burial of tree parts. Dating these changes enables the reconstruction of aeolian sand transport with high precision.

Publications

  • Ouden, J. den; Sass-Klaassen, U.; Copini, P. (2007) Dendrogeomorphology - a new tool to study drift-sand dynamics Netherlands Journal of Geosciences. Geologie en Mijnbouw 86 (4). - p. 355 - 363.
  • Copini, P.; Sass-Klaassen, U.; Ouden, J. den (2007) Dendrochronology as a tool for historical ecological research. Two case studies from the Netherlands. In: TRACE - Tree Rings in Archaeology, Climatology and Ecology, Vol. 5 Proceedings of the DENDROSYMPOSIUM, 20-22 April, 2006, Tervuren, Belgium. - Jülich : Forschungszentrums Jülich, - p. 179 - 189.Dendrosympoium 2006, 2006-04-20/ 2006-04-22. (PDF 5.3MB)
  • Copini, P.; Sass-Klaassen, U.; Ouden, J. den (2008) Drift-sand dynamics reflected in wood anatomy of European oak. Poster presented at the Euro dendro meeting, Hallstatt, Austria. (JPG 315KB)

MSc theses

  • Zyadin, A. (2007). Dendrogeomorphological analysis of an oak cluster (Quercus robur.L.) from a drift sand area in The Netherlands. (supervision: Sass-Klaassen, den Ouden, Copini)