T H E V E G E T A T I O N O F S H I N G L E S T R E E T , S U F F O L K IN R E L A T I O N TO ITS E N V I R O N M E N T R. E.
RANDALL
Shingle Street is a part of Bawdsey Parish, situated on the west bank of the estuary of the River Ore, opposite North Weir Point, the distal end of Orford Ness. The area of prime interest is an accumulation of shingle east of the sea-wall in the northern part of the hamlet. It is composed of a series of apposition banks enclosing several lagoons. Projecting northwards and making an acute angle with the mainland is a shingle spit behind which an arm of the sea is situated (Fig. 1). A brief survey of the botany of the area was published by Heath (1981). Considerable geomorphic examination of the area has been undertaken by Carr (1965,1972, 1986), Cobb (1957), Kidson and Carr (1959), and Randall (1973. 1977). This has shown Shingle Street to be a dynamic area of coast, resulting primarily from shingle deposition following the storms of 1893 and 1897 when the last kilometre of Orford Ness was driven landwards. The area is anomalous in that the present resultant of shingle movement in the littoral zone is to the north, in contrast to much of the east coast of England, including Orford Ness. Much of the geomorphic change that has occurred during the twentieth century can be accurately dated by reference to surveys and air photographs such that the age of any area of the system is known. Thus an interesting chronological account may be made of the vegetation and its environment. Shingle is an interesting plant habitat because the vast proportion of the soil material is inert, rarely offering suitable conditions for plant establishment. Randall (1976), Fuller (1987) and Scott (1963) have discussed the importance of interstitial material in the development of shingle vegetation. In some locations very fine shingle allows water and nutrient retention; at the other sites tidal litter or sand fill the interstices and allow the growth of plants. Shingle vegetation was initially studied by Oliver (1912, 1913), Oliver and Salisbury (1913a, b), Hill and Hanley (1914) and McLean (1915). Recently Ferry and Waters (1985) studied shingle succession at Dungeness and Fuller and Randall (1988) have examined the role of coastline management on the Orford shingles, but little has been done to link the geomorphic history of an area with the present day vegetation and soils. This seems to be a fundamental necessity in the complete comprehension of shingle ecology since, as Tansley (1949) remarks, 'it is necessary to understand the developmental morphology of shingle spits because the different parts of the system bear different vegetation'. Vegetated shingle is a rare habitat both in the British Isles and elsewhere in Europe. Much that was of interest, such as Dungeness, Kent, has been lost to extraction, disturbance and development. This survey is intended to be a basis for furure study of the dynamic ecological development of Shingle Street. A further aim, in conjunction with the geomorphic study (Randall 1973), is to obtain data that will help assess the scientific value of Shingle
Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 24