5 4 i { : 23 Coastal Foredunes of Southern Brazil: Physiography, Habitats, and Vegetation Ulrich Seeliger Laboratorio de Botanica Marinha Departamento de Oceanografia Universidade do Rio Grande Rio Grande, Brazil 1, Introduction I. The Study Area and Its Environment IIL. Floristic Composition and Affinities IV. Foredune Physiographies V. The Foredune Habitats A. The Driftline Habitat B. The Embryo Dune Habitat C. The Main Foredune Habitat D. The Sheltered-Area Habitat VI. The Human Factor References |. Introduction Foredunes of all coasts have much in common as an environment. Wave- and wind-dependent allogenic processes select for similar particle size of sand, irrespective of the composition of local sediments. The beach sand, which builds the dunes, is enriched with nutrients and organic matter from the sea. The permeability of the sandy substrate permits drainage and leaching, with a tendency to form arid systems. The proximity of the Copyright © 1992 by Academic Press, Inc Coastal Plant Communities of Latin America 367 All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.368 Ulrich Seeliger sea induces permanently high air humidity and minimizes climatic ex- tremes. Finally, recent sea-level changes have acted comparably on the morphology and age of foredunes at different coasts. These similarities between caastal foredunes led to a series of standard habitat types based on geomorphological elements, soil, and vegetation types that occur almost universally in this environment. Unifying ele- ments are particularly notable in the forédtnes, where habi taigypes area direct effect of recent, active sand transportation. Generally,foredune habitats do not reflect autogenic succession, and distinctions between them are largely owing to differences of the initial environment and changes of abiotic factors thereafter, giving the vegetation the character, ofa perpetual pioneer community (Doing, 1981). In contrast, the charac- terization of coastal backdune habitat types may diverge from a unifying concept. Their formation is principally controlled by successional rela- tionships, which are influenced by the local geomorphological and vege- tation history, and by human activities. Allogenic processes of similar nature occur along all coasts, but their importance and frequency are not constant. Their relative significance depends on oceanic and climatic conditions of a given area and their reciprocal interaction with dune vegetation (Godfrey, 1977). Over time, these interactions determine the different foredune physiographies and associated habitats along a lengthy coastline. Foredunes perform a major function in coastal protection and wildlife conservation. Anthropogenic activities are often incompatible because of inherent dune vulnerability. Consequently, heavy losses or complete destruction of pristine dune areas are commonplace (Westhoff, 1985), and each country clearly needs to develop a national plan for dune protection and use. Management approaches must consider these functions and ecological differences within and between physiographically distinct regions (Godfrey, 1977) to preserve the value of any part of the coast for specific types of land use (van der Meulen et al., 1985). Il. The Study Area and Its Environment One of the world’s longest continuous coastal foredune systems, exclu- sively colonized by herbaceous plants, stretches for 700 km from Cabo St. Marta (Brazil) to La Coronilla (Uruguay). The southernmost 220 km of this system, between the beach resorts of Cassino and Hermenegildo, have a warm-temperate climate (Viera and Rangel, 1988), owing to the influence of the warm Brazil and cold Falkland currents (Fig. 23.1). A mean annual temperature of 18°C, with monthly averages of 24.6° and 13.1°C in January and July, respectively, is similar in the north and south23. Coastal Foredunes of Southern Brazit 369 URUGUAY MANGUEIRA ATLANTIC. Lagoon OCEAN T SAO. exes PAULO DE RO BRAZIL LA CORONILLA [7] FOREDUNES HUMMOCKS SAND PLAINS soe sew Figure 23.1 Location of the coastal foredune system in southern Brazil.