Many of us escape to the beach to relax. We are soothed by the rhythm of the waves as we sit in our beach chairs sipping lemonade. In reality though, the barrier beach is a dynamic, high-energy environment where organisms must make many adaptations in order to survive.
Plants are what hold the sand in place and keep the dunes from blowing away.
The leaves and stems that grows above the sand acts like a trap to collect the blowing sand. This pillow of sand also keeps young plants from drying out.