Studland Peninsula: Coastal Pressures Case Study

Question 1

Coastal Erosion & Management

Coastal Erosion

Answer 1

• The southern half of Studland’s peninsula is losing 1m a year to coastal erosion.
• The northern half of Studland’s peninsula is gaining 1.5m a year via deposition of sediment.
• This is a consequence of longshore drift.

Question 2

Coastal Management

Answer 2

• National Trust have adopted a policy of managed retreat to avoid disruption to the coasts dynamic equilibrium.
• There has been minor repair of existing defences such as Studland’s gabions.
• There has also been minor soft engineering, such as the planting of marram grass in front of beach huts to encourage sand dunes to develop (acting as a natural defence against erosion).

Question 3

How has studland economically developed?

Answer 3

• Studland is a honeypot site that receives 1.5m visitors and as many as 25,000 on a peak weekend.
• The National Trust employs 56 people full time and up to 120 in the Summer.
• The National Trust supplies its cafe using local suppliers such as Purbeck Icecream – this creates a multiplier effect.
• Many tenant businesses use the beach, such as Studland Stables and Boat/Canoe Hire companies.
• Studland has 4 car parks that bring revenue for the National Trust.
• Studland has 300 beach huts, many of which are rented out by the National Trust for £890 per year.
• Studland is home to Wytch Farm Oil Field that employs 440 people and produces 15,000 barrels a day.

Question 4

Pressure: Wych farm oil field

Answer 4

-Producing 15,000 barrels a day and being the UK’s largest on-shore oil field has the potential to cause noise pollution, ruin the natural scenery, and disrupt residents/tourists.

Solutions

• Or Machinery painted brown and green to reduce visibility
• Extraction columns split in two to reduce height and therefore reduce visibility

-Gas vessels embedded into ground to reduce height and hide them from view
Hot oil used over water so that steam won’t be visible from afar

-Coniferous forest planted around Wytch Farm to hide visibility of field
In 2037, BP agree to completely dismantle the field and return it to its natural state

Question 5

Pressure: fires

Answer 5

-In April 2010, a fire destroyed 10 hectares of heathland killing many reptiles. Fires are a major risk due to tourists that barbecue.

Solutions

-National Trust has created special zone for barbecues away from flammable heathland and has adopted signage to discourage barbecues in places outside of that zone

Question 6

Pressure: litter

Answer 6

-On busy weekends around 4,500kg of litter can be left in Studland.

Solutions:

• Staff will spend 3 hours on busy weekends emptying bins.
• Staff have placed more bins along footpaths to prevent illegal litter

Question 7

Pressure: congestion

Answer 7

-Over 90% of visitors travel by car, resulting in congestion and illegal parking.

Solutions:

• Capacity of car parks increased by 800 spaces
• National Trust encouraging people to use Sandbanks ferry over driving

Question 8

Pressure: marine habitat damage

Answer 8

-Seagrass meadows are scraped up by boat anchors. Seagrass is a vital habitat for Spiny-tailed Seahorses (vulnerable according to ICUN Red List).

Solutions:

• Co-operation with boat owners to prevent anchors near beach
• Studland is seeking Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) status that would allow it to impose fines on boat owners who damage the environment.

Question 9

Pressure: dune system

Answer 9

• The National Trust is maintaining the dune system at a pagioclimax (a stage where human activity prevents further establishment of dune system) in order to maintain the heathland for Studland’s reptiles.
• However, sand dune erosion is disrupting this equilibrium by causing sand dunes to regress into earlier stages.
• Lyme grass, the first coloniser, is beginning to appear among the marram grass in many of the dunes. This suggests that the dunes are under stress as they reverting to an early stage of the succession.

Solutions:

Boardwalks
Rope fencing
Planting marram grass

Question 10

Conflict: naturists and beach users

Answer 10

Visitors feel uncomfortable around naturists and vice versa.

Solution
The solution has been to zone the naturists in the north end of the beach

Question 11

Conflict: horse riding and beach users

Answer 11

Studland Stables offers beach horse riding for visitors, but this conflicts with beach users who may not leave enough space for safe riding.

Solution:
In July and August, horse riding is only allowed in the early morning or after 7PM

Question 12

Conflict: kite surfers and swimmers

Answer 12

Kite surfing may disrupt people who are bathing in the sea and vice versa.

Solution:
The National Trust has designated special take-off and departure points for kite surfers on the beach. This reduces the risk of conflict between swimmers and kite surfers

Question 13

Why is studland a ‘crowded coast’?

Answer 13

-It is a 5km long sandy peninsula.
Behind the beach is a biodiverse heathland containing the richest 1000 hectares of wildflowers in the UK, as well as an acidic freshwater lake called Little Sea.

• Studland is home to all six of the UK’s native reptile species.
• Studland is accessible from Poole and Bournemouth via the £3.80 Sandbanks Ferry.
• Studland has natural resources (e.g. Wycht Farm in Studland is UK’s largest on-shore oil field).
• Studland Bay is on the UNESCO World Heritage Jurassic Coastline and home to anSSSI (site of special scientific interest)