"Tourists are in conflict with the Sand Dune ecosystem at Oxwich Bay Nature Reserve".

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GEOGRAPHY COURSEWORK

For this project our class undertook a study field trip to Oxwich Bay Nature Reserve, on the Gower coast, South Wales, to assess the following hypothesis:

“Tourists are in conflict with

the Sand Dune ecosystem at Oxwich Bay Nature Reserve”

Introduction

Forty years ago, Gower peninsular, Swansea County, became the U.K.'s first designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Tourist guide for the Gower states:

 

Conflict in Oxwich Bay has therefore been happening all the time, with locals and tourists alike, utilising the beach and encroaching upon the dunes; ramblers and interest groups encouraged to walk in the reserve, all potentially contributing to the disruption of the ecosystem of the dunes.  Sand dredging in the Bristol Channel is also causing concern, resulting in falls in natural re-supply of beach material.

SECTION 1

Introduction to Oxwich Bay Area

Why the Oxwich Bay area is important

Background to the area

Oxwich Bay itself was formed about 100 million years ago when the sea eroded the soft shales lying between the harder limestone rocks, which can still be seen exposed at Oxwich Point and Great Tor. The sand, forming the dunes, originated in the Bristol Channel, where it was deposited during the Ice Age. During the last glaciation, as many as 6 to 8000 years ago, sea level as a whole was much lower than it is today; with this the Bristol Channel was abridged to a large river in the centre of a large plain. In the long run as the sea level rose the sand was re-worked and pushed shoreward.

“Oxwich Burrows” or the sand dunes at Oxwich stretch the whole length of the Bay. All of it under protection All of it a nature reserve.  As can be seen from the aerial photograph (Fig 1:3) the dunes are mature and covered with extensive vegetation. The dunes area holds 300 different species of flowering plants because the dunes provide a great variety of environmental conditions.

Its marshes are a nature reserve of Special Scientific Interest. These Marshes were formed by the river, which runs through Oxwich, becoming blocked off by the expanding dunes and flooding the area behind the dunes with water.

Why Does Oxwich Bay Need Managing

As mentioned earlier, Oxwich Bay is an ecosystem. An ecosystem is a group of living things, plus the non-living things that need to work in synchronization with a delicate balance of INPUTS, PROCESSES and OUTPUTS. Thus parts of an ecosystem are linked together. For example: in a woodland ecosystem, rain is an input, which makes the trees grow, evaporation is the output.

There are many different ecosystems in the world. Some are small-scale, such as a pond, whilst others are large-scale and cover vast areas, such as a rainforest.

A medium scale ecosystem is the sand dune ecosystem, like that found at Oxwich Bay. Oxwich is a particularly fragile ecosystem because its component parts are extremely delicate. This means it is very susceptible to damage such as erosion, flooding or pollution. Not just at Oxwich Bay, erosion of surface soils due to the action of wind has become a major problem in arid and semi arid areas across the world.

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The principal reasons making the management of the dunes so significant are as follows:

  • The dune ecosystem is very brittle yet is an important example of ecosystem succession. If one part is damaged the system will break down.

  • The dunes are very good for maintaining many different types of wildlife as it provides a unique habitat for flora and fauna such as marram grass, lizards, rabbits and certain types of birds.

  • Because of the species diversity and impressive and pleasant environment of the bay coupled with its accessibility, the bay is an important ...

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