Vegetation, distance to the coast, and aeolian geomorphic processes and landforms in a transgressive arid coastal dune system

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to determine the nature and relative importance of environmental factors that shape the distribution of dune vegetation in the Maspalomas dune field in the Canary Islands, an arid transgressive dune system. Environmental factors were defined according to their expression related to the linear distance from the coast and to the local aeolian geomorphic process-landform context. Plant communities were characterized through an integration of field mapping, digital orthophoto interpretation and GIS analysis. The vegetation of the study area consists of 19 plant communities. In areas with active sedimentary processes, vegetation tends to be localized in slacks. In areas with more stabilized landforms, vegetation appears at both dunes and slacks. In conclusion, the main factor controlling the distribution of vegetation in the transgressive dune system of Maspalomas is the local aeolian sedimentary process-landform context. Distance to the coast is not as significant as an influence. The gradient structuring of environmental factors associated with retentive coastal dune systems and expressed as distance to the coast does not fully capture the biogeomorphic dynamism of transgressive dune fields.

Keywords:

• dune vegetation
• vegetation distribution patterns
• aeolian sedimentary processes
• geographic information system
• Maspalomas
• Canary Islands

Acknowledgements

This is a contribution of REN2003-05947, SEJ2007-64959 and CSO2010-18150 projects of the Spanish National Plan for R+D+i (innovation), co-financed with ERDF funds.