Temperate Zone Coastal Dunes

Almost half of the world’s coastal areas are included in the temperate climatic zone, and of these areas, many support coastal dune systems. The objective of this chapter is to characterize the vegetation of these dune areas and to show how their plants can be sensitive indicators of small climatic shifts as well as the transitions to adjoining polar and Mediterranean/tropical climates. The use of the word “temperate” as in “temperate zone climate”implies a physical habitat that experiences neither wide extremes of temperature nor very low levels of precipitation. In its broadest sense, it refers to the areas of the Earth lying between 23.5° and 66.5° latitudes on both sides of the equator.