Cabrera-Vega, L.L., Cruz-Avero, N., Hernández-Calvento, L., Hernández-Cordero, A.I. and Fernández-Cabrera, E., 2013. Morphological changes in dunes as an indicator of anthropogenic interferences in arid dune fields. In: Conley, D.C., Masselink, G., Russell, P.E. and O'Hare, T.J. (eds.) Coastal dunes systems have been widely modified by human activities, especially in recent decades. Some of the changes have modified the aeolian landforms which characterize these environments. The dune systems of the Canary Islands can be considered as arid systems due to its temperature and rainfall levels. For this reason, the speed at which the geomorphologic process (natural or induced by human activities) occur are more significant than in dune systems located at either temperate or tropical regions. In this sense, the Canary Islands beach-dune systems are ideal for testing the effects of human activity on these environments. This work identifies major alterations, from the 60's, on three dune systems where t...

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.