IntroductionThis study deals with the establishment, growth, and degeneration of Ammophila arenaria (marram grass), a grass species that dominates the vegetation in coastal foredunes. Following natural establishment from rhizomes on high parts of the beach A.arenaria reduces wind velocity, which results in the accretion of windblown sand and the formation of dunes. A. arenaria grows vigorously in mobile dunes where fresh sand is deposited by wind, but it disappears from the vegetation when these dunes become stabilized.Because of its ability to stabilize the sand, A. arenaria is often used in dunes to control erosion. It is planted according to a long practicised manual technique, using culms that are collected from stands at the foredune. When foredunes are reconstructed, however, (e.g. after storms) the establishment of A. arenaria is often unsuccessful, which means that erosion control can become very costly.This study was carried out to develop new methods of establishing A. arenaria and to investigate the cause of the replant failures on reconstructed dunes. In addition, experiments were carried out to eludicate the relationship between the colonization of windblown sand and the vigour of A. arenaria .EstablishmentTwo alternative methods were developed: (1) the sowing of seeds, which is rarely practiced and (2) the disk-harrowing of rhizomes, which has not previously been applied.Experiments showed that seeds hardly germinate at constant temperatures. A high rate of germination can be achieved with fluctuating high temperatures, but at low temperatures the seeds required stratification in order to germinate. In the field the seeds germinated well if they had been sown during the winter, which was probably because of natural stratification. Seeds can be sown mechanically while afterwards the sand surface needs to be stabilized. For this purpose straw proved to be more effective for seedbed stabilization than spraid compost.Rhizomes (i.e. vertical underground stems) were collected from the foredune by ...