Beach meadow
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Beach Meadows are
coastal meadow Coastal meadows are meadows in the coastal zone, influenced by the sea. Under this definition, the salinity of the air and wind is usually high and the flora is dominated by salt-tolerant species. Some coastal meadows may be flooded by seawater ...
s influenced by the presence of the nearby sea. Under this definition, the salinity of the air and wind is always high and the meadows are often flooded during and after stormy weather. These conditions implies that the flora is dominated by salt-tolerant species. However, that alone does not make a
meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...
. To be categorized as a meadow in the first place, the plantgrowth has to be low in height, and normally this can only be achieved from wear by general traffic or grazing of the landscape, either artificially or by
livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...
. Beach meadows are therefore usually thought of as cultural landscapes or biotopes, requiring some degree of intervention and not being able to sustain itself on its own. If left to their own, beach meadows would usually transform into a so-called transitional meadow and eventually a shrubby or bushy seashore habitat.


Flora and fauna

Beach meadows are fundamentally an unstable nature type and this condition have an important influence on the flora and fauna found here. Beach meadows are characterized by a number of plants and animals that could not have thrived if the habitat was left to a natural development. The grazing (or traffic) hinders bushes, trees and shrubs to get the upper hand and allows low-growth plants to emerge and dominate. This again attracts and supports a special fauna that would change character, if the beach meadow were left to its own. The specific flora and fauna is of course determined by the general climate and geography of the beach meadow.


Birds

Beach meadows offers a variety of opportunities to many birds, primarily
wader 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...
s,
duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...
s and
gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century ...
s. Many species are resting here during
tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...
s and they are feeding in the small ponds. A number of bird species use beach meadows as breeding grounds, especially on islands without predators like fox, ''
mustelidae The Mustelidae (; from Latin ''mustela'', weasel) are a family of carnivorous mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others. Mustelids () are a diverse group and form the largest family in th ...
'' (
raccoon dog The common raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes procyonoides''), also called the Chinese or Asian raccoon dog, is a small, heavy-set, fox-like canid native to East Asia. Named for its raccoon-like face markings, it is most closely related to foxes. Common ...
s,
wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...
s,
polecat Polecat is a common name for several mustelid species in the order Carnivora and subfamilies Ictonychinae and Mustelinae. Polecats do not form a single taxonomic rank (i.e. clade). The name is applied to several species with broad similarities ...
s, etc.) or the like. Introducing even small numbers of predators to beach meadow habitats, can wreak havoc on the bird populations, as predators have unrestricted access to eggs and birds.


Beach meadow localities

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
has several beach meadows. Large and well-developed meadows can primarily be found in the Wadden Sea,
Limfjord The Limfjord ( common Danish: ''Limfjorden'' , in north Jutlandish dialect: ''Æ Limfjord'') is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it has been regarded as a fjord ever since Viking times. However, it now has inlets both from ...
and
Isefjord Ise Fjord ( da, Isefjorden) is a deeply branched arm of the sea into the Danish island Zealand. From its relatively narrow entrance from the Kattegat at Hundested and Rørvig, branches of Ise Fjord stretch 35 km inland and divide the norther ...
areas and on the islands of
Læsø Læsø ("Isle of Hlér") is the largest island in the North Sea bay of Kattegat, and is located off the northeast coast of the Jutland Peninsula, the Danish mainland. Læsø is also the name of the municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') on that ...
and Lolland, but there are many other smaller beach meadows throughout this lowlying country. On the Faroese Islands and in
Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
'
fell A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of Man, pa ...
meadows' can be found. They are usually not flooded by seawater, so it could be argued if they are truly beach meadows.
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
and some parts of Sweden, has extensive 'fell meadows'. In the Baltic region, there are several beach meadows. Sweden can present true beach meadows on
Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Øland'' in other Scandinavian languages, and often ''Oland'' internationally; la, Oelandia) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area ...
and in some parts of Gotland fx. and
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
has large beach meadows of international importance to
migratory birds Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...
.
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
has several beach meadows throughout. They can be found in
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
and the country of
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
has several. Here the coast often consists of high cliffs, so the meadows are usually not flooded by seawater and strictly speaking they would be classified as 'coastal meadows' or '
fell A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of Man, pa ...
meadows'. Examples can be found on the
Llŷn Peninsula The Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn or , ) extends into the Irish Sea from North West Wales, south west of the Isle of Anglesey. It is part of the historic county of Caernarfonshire, and historic region and local authority area of Gwynedd. Mu ...
, where cattle are grazing.
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
has many fell meadows.
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
has large areas of fell meadows with grazing cattle. On the American continent,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
can present extensive fell meadows on
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
. As the practices of cattle grazing is diminishing in many places - especially the
industrialized Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
parts -, the stress of overgrowth are endangering them as meadow habitats.


See also

*
Salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is domin ...
*
Coastal meadow Coastal meadows are meadows in the coastal zone, influenced by the sea. Under this definition, the salinity of the air and wind is usually high and the flora is dominated by salt-tolerant species. Some coastal meadows may be flooded by seawater ...
*
Flood-meadow A flood-meadow (or floodmeadow) is an area of grassland or pasture beside a river, subject to seasonal flooding.Huhta, Ari‐Pekka, Rautio, Pasi (2014). Flood meadows in Finland - their development during the past century. '' Nordic Journal of ...
* Water-meadow *
Wet meadow A wet meadow is a type of wetland with soils that are Solubility, saturated for part or all of the growing season. Debate exists whether a wet meadow is a type of marsh or a completely separate type of wetland. Wet prairies and wet savannas are hyd ...
* Coastal prairie (disambiguation)


Sources and literature

* Lorenz Ferdinand: "Fuglene i landskabet" (Større danske fuglelokaliteter Bind II; Dansk Ornitologisk Forening, København 1980; * Peter Vestergaard
Beach Meadows - a protected nature-type
Danish Ministry of Nature and the Environment (2000),
Beach Meadows
Danish Nature Agency {{Wetlands Meadows Flooded grasslands and savannas