ENVIRONMENT
By Lindsey Precht
W
ith more than 7 miles of sand dunes, Miami Beach has made great strides in recent years to fortify the city’s coastline through the protection and enhancement of this important natural resource. A healthy dune system provides nature-based protection from storms, climate change and sea level rise. The dunes are a critical piece of the city’s green infrastructure and even serve as the first line of defense against hurricanes. The city has partnered with various organizations over the years to protect the dunes from threats such as the intrusion of nonnative plants and dune erosion. The organizations have also worked with the city on sandtrapping and reconfiguration of crossovers to reduce light pollution. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden has worked with the city to restore endangered plant species like Jacquemontia reclinata, which is also known as beach clustervine. The rare plant is native to southeast Florida and was placed on the Endangered Species List in 1993 with a narrow habitat range — from approximately Biscayne Bay to Jupiter Inlet. “In the past decade, most of South Florida’s federally endangered beach clustervine has been sharply declining but not at North Beach Oceanside Park,” observed Conservation Program Manager Jennifer Possley of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. “Fairchild’s reintroduction of plants is thriving and even spreading here because the park’s dunes still retain open sunny spaces for dune-building plants like beach
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MB magazine | Summer 2022
clustervine. The park is a much-needed stronghold for coastal dune species along the crowded South Florida coast.” In 2006, Fairchild staff planted 157 individual clustervines adjacent to the North Beach Oceanside Park between 84 and 86 streets. It planted another 103 plants in 2010 between 82 and 87 streets. This past January, the city’s Environmental Resources team met with Fairchild staff and Miami Dade College professor Sonali Saha to document the effort to repopulate the dunes with clustervines. Specimens were found beyond the area where they were initially planted, extending as far south as 79 Street. The next phase of the project involves documenting individual plants and collecting seeds for research and future planting efforts. “We have driven it to the brink of extinction by incessantly destroying its coastline habitat,” according to Saha, an instructor of biology and environmental science at the college. Thanks to well-planned and science-based restoration efforts, the beach clustervine may once again thrive on Miami Beach, Saha said, adding that reintroduced populations have been established in locations where trees have not shaded the coastal dune habitat. “We are cautious, but hopeful and can’t wait for these beauties to come back home,” Saha shared. “Protecting our dunes and the native plants that add ecological value is an endeavor that must be undertaken by all.”
