10

PURBECK!10 Seaweed rarely freezes because it has a very high salt content; the life that survives within offers wintering birds a valuable food source. Seaweed fly-maggots and sandhoppers accelerate the composting process, breaking down all the organic... More

PURBECK!10 Seaweed rarely freezes because it has a very high salt content; the life that survives within offers wintering birds a valuable food source. Seaweed fly-maggots and sandhoppers accelerate the composting process, breaking down all the organic matter; they can make short shrift of very large piles of seaweed! The sometimes vast swathes of organic material washing over our beaches act as a very effective buffer between ocean and land, helping protect the coast from erosion. As conveyors of seaweed roll over sandy beaches such as those at Studland, they deposit nutrients for pioneering plant species such as Sea Rocket and Prickly Saltwort. These hardy stalwarts provide an anchoring network of root beds and surface vegetation which helps to form dunes. Dunes offer protection for species such as Marram grass, often found growing behind beaches a little further inland. In 2009 I stumbled across the very rare Sea Stock growing on dunes at Studland. This scarcest of plants hasn Less