Estimación de la susceptibilidad en dunas costeras de regiones áridas y su relación con la cobertura vegetal. Aplicación a la duna costera de Maspalomas (islas Canarias, España)

Abstract

Estimación de la susceptibilidad en dunas costeras de regiones áridas y su relación con la cobertura vegetal. Aplicación a la duna costera de Maspalomas (islas Canarias, España). Estimation of the susceptibility in foredunes of arid regions and the relationship to vegetation cover. Application in the foredune of Maspalomas (Canary Islands, Spain).

The coastal dunes systems from arid regions are significantly different of those from temperate regions and have not been studied enough. In Canary Island there are some of these arid transgressive dunes systems, where some plant species are unique in the European context. The foredunes have singular features and role, which should be taken into account for its management. Therefore, it is needed to estimate the susceptibility or intrinsic capacity of these systems to face the agents (natural and human) that affect them. Several studies highlight the importance of vegetation coverage in the accumulation of sand (dune formation) and, therefore, in the decrease of their susceptibility. In this context this study determines the susceptibility analysis of one of these systems, through a checklist of 22 variables, and relating it with the density of the vegetation. We have selected three plots located in the foredune of Maspalomas. The results confirm that at higher susceptibility, the vegetation cover in the foredune is lower, what is a key to approach management measures in this class of systems.