Nederlandse kustduinen : geomorfologie en bodems

This report forms part of an interdisciplinary survey on landscape ecology of the Dutch coastal dunes. Other subjects are dealt with in 'Geohydrology' (Bakker, 1981), 'Geobotany' (Van Zadelhoff, 1981) and 'Landscape ecology' (Bakker et al., 1981). The subjects in these reports have been selected primarily for ecological significance. Within this ecological frame, most attention was paid to the dune slacks, being the most vulnerable and threatened dune habitat in the Netherlands.This report describes climatic history especially in the Middle Ages and later centuries (Chap. 2), coastal development (Chap. 3), geology (Chap. 4); human influences on relief and soil (Chap. 5), being 'decision variables' for geomorphological and pedological features. An explanation of dune-forming mechanisms is followed by a classification of dune forms (Chap. 6). Also a brief description of the Dutch coastal dunes is given in relation to the geomorphological map (scale 1:100 000, App. IV). Further some attention is given to the ecological features of dune slacks, and also some remarks are made on nature management. Chapter 7 is focused on the sudden origin of the 'Younger Dunes' in the Netherlands and the existence of three major phases in their development. The major part of the dunes proved to result from secondary dune-forming processes, for which the most probable cause is coastal erosion. There seems to be a cause-effect relation between climatic changes, phases of coastal erosion and phases of secondary duneforming. Chapter 8 gives an outline of the main soil forming processes like the development of a humus-layer and leaching of compounds like carbonates as an introduction on the ecologically important moisture and nutrient conditions in dune soils. Special attention is given to the influence of pH and moisture regime as well as to the effect of human activities.