VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Uniola paniculata | Sea Oats 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Cattle graze sea oats [16].

Most sea oats spikelets falling on stable sites (and therefore not
rapidly buried by sand) are eaten by birds and mammals [16].

On the east coast of Florida, the oldfield mouse inhabits barrier island
dunes.  It is found in open habitats of sea oats fore dunes and it feeds
on sea oats fruits [15].  On Perdido Key, Florida, ideal habitat for the
endangered Perdido Key beach mouse consists of well-developed dunes
vegetated with sea oats and other dune grasses.  The Perdido Key beach
mouse lives in burrows constructed in the dunes.  It feeds primarily on
seeds of beach herbs, including sea oats, and insects [7].

Marsh rabbits feed on sea oats in the dune areas of the barrier islands
of Georgia.  Songbirds, especially song sparrows and other fringillids,
and red-winged blackbirds are the major consumers of sea oat seeds [16].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Sea oats has essentially no forage value for livestock [9].


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Sea oats was used in experimental dune building and vegetative
stabilization on Timbalier Island, Louisiana, a barrier island which is
sand-deficient.  Sand fencing was used to stimulate sand accretion on a
washover terrace breached in 1979 during a storm surge.  Fencing and
vegetation planting was begun May 1981, and the site was fertilized in
late September 1981.  Sea oats was planted in November 1981, between
already planted bitter panicum (Panicum amarum).  Sea oats had a 25
percent survival rate in May 1982, and a 23 percent survival rate by
August 1982.  Sand accumulation on the sand-fenced and vegetated areas
was substantial over a 3-year period (1981-1984).  Without sand fencing
vegetation did not cause appreciable vertical accretion of sand [19].

Sea oats is used in Florida to enhance beach stability when lost sand is
replaced.  Replacement sand is shaped and then planted with sea oats and
other pioneer species to begin the dune-building process [28].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Sea oats is an excellent dune builder and sand binder. It thrives in
areas where dune building is active [23] and contributes to maintenance
of the dune in its position.  Sea oats traps windblown sand, forming
mounds of sand which increase as the plant responds with increased
growth [15].  It possesses an extensive root and rhizome system which
produces new growth following sand burial [4].

Sea oats is well adapted to and dominates the most exposed areas of the
dune where soil moisture is low.  It tolerates drought, salt spray, and
rapid sand burial.  Maximum leaf elongation occurs at 12.8 percent soil
moisture.  Stomates close and leaf elongation slows when soil moisture
falls below 8.5 percent.  Plants do not wilt until soil moisture falls
below 1.2 percent.  Once drought is relieved, sea oats can recover from
very negative water potentials.  Excessive soil moisture from a high
water table or inundation has a greater negative effect on sea oats
growth than does low soil moisture.  With waterlogging stress due to a
high water table, stomates close and there is reduced biomass
production.  Inundation of roots for just a few days results in death of
the plant [12].

Erosion of dunes is accelerated by grazing.  When sand on the windward
slope is not anchored by sea oats and other vegetation it is carried
over the top by the wind and deposited on the lee side, resulting in
migrating or "marching" dunes.  When overgrazing results in the loss of
dune vegetation and the subsequent loss of the stable dune system, a
wide, flat beachfront may develop.  Then extremely high storm induced
tides may inundate the entire beachfront and erode the older,
well-established dune systems protecting the interior, as occurred on
Cumberland Island, Georgia in 1971.  Grazing has transformed several of
the banks in North Carolina into barren islands of shifting sand.  Dune
damage from grazing has also been reported from South Carolina, Texas,
and several islands along the Georgia coast [16].  Vegetation on North
Padre Island, Texas, is still recovering from cattle grazing from 1850
to 1971, when it was discontinued [1].

Sea oats is adversely affected when the dunes on which it grows are
altered by urban development, by the impact of off-road vehicles on
vegetation cover and compaction of soil, and by pollution of adjacent
waters by treated and untreated sewage, fertilization, and contaminants
from marinas, fish processing plants, and highways [23].

Sea oats was grown under greenhouse conditions in Louisiana dune sand.
Addition of the macronutrients nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium
resulted in significantly greater leaf-elongation rates, number of
stems, and aboveground biomass than in controls with no additions.
However, additions of the micronutrients iron, manganese, copper, and
zinc in conjunction with the macronutrients led to reduced leaf
elongation and number of stems compared to controls.  Micronutrients
alone had no positive or negative effects [13].

Sea oats seedlings were outplanted to Miami Beach, Florida, beaches to
enhance beach stability.  When seedlings were inoculated with
vesicular-arbuscular (VAM) fungi there were increases in seedling growth
over those that were not inoculated.  Root colonization by VAM fungi was
higher when the inoculum was already-colonized roots rather than spores
alone [28].

Related categories for Species: Uniola paniculata | Sea Oats