ABSTRACT
In the eighteenth century, scientific societies, academies, and governments across Europe pursued a definitive solution to the threat of the moving dunes and the improvement of these wastelands. From Denmark to Prussia, Holland, France, and other countries the spirit of the Enlightenment promoted the advancement, discussion, and circulation of knowledge about dunes. This chapter examines the erudite men of science who took the first steps in transforming these barren sandscapes into forests. Through their theoretical and practical work, they developed a series of measures to stabilize the dunes based on local know-how, including the planting and protection of specific plant species, such as Ammophila arenaria. Although the French engineer Nicolas Brémontier is perhaps the most well-known of these men, he was neither the first nor the only one to successfully attempt to stabilize the dunes. This chapter discusses the work and legacy of Brémontier and his colleagues in the context of their time.
