Studies in the Ecology of Breckland

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Abstract
Two kinds of erosion are distinguished: 1) frontal caused by straight or direct winds, 2) blow-out caused by cyclonic winds. The distribution of blow-outs is related to topography, soil or vegetation. Evidence tends to show that they start in retrograded plant communities or in thin stands of fescue-bent communities. Blow-outs cannot be formed where the cover of higher plants is continuous. Many blow-outs are arrested in an early stage by Polytrichum colonization. Greatest resistance to erosion is offered by a continuous carpet of Agrostis vul-garis and A. palustris with marginal clumps of Festuca ovina. Resistance offered by fescue is limited to an area about twice that covered by the shoots. The mechanics of blow-out enlargement are descr. in detail. There was no observed relationship between number of rabbit burrows and blow-out formation. Rabbits may assist in inception and development of blow-outs but they are not essential causes.

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