Environmental studies on coastal dune systems are faced with a considerable cost barrier due to the cost of the instrumentation and sensory equipment required for data collection. These systems play an important role in coastal areas as a protection against erosion and as providers of stability to coastal sedimentary deposits. The DIY (Do-It-Yourself) approach to data acquisition can reduce the cost of these environmental studies. In this paper, a low-cost DIY wireless wind data acquisition system is presented which reduces the cost barrier inherent to these types of studies. The system is deployed for the analysis of the foredune of Maspalomas, an arid dune field situated on the south coast of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain), for the specific purpose of studying the dynamics of a dune type (tongue dunes), which is typical of this environment. The results obtained can be of interest for the study of these coastal environments at both the local level, for the management of this particular dune field, and at the general level for other similar dune fields around the world.

A trial study of foredune restoration on El Inglés beach (Gran Canaria, Spain) was carried out between July 2018 and December 2019 as part of the MASDUNAS program of the Gran Canaria Island Council. Among the objectives of that project was the sand relocation from the tip of La Bajeta to the El Inglés beach, the installation of sand collectors and the reintroduction of specimens of Traganum moquinii that act as generators of new mound dunes in the foredune. This study presents results, extracted from the scientific monitoring of the project, on the efficiency of the sand collectors and the evolution of the planted specimens of T. moquinii. The knowledge gained from this trial study is key to improve and adapt the coastal dune restoration procedure in arid systems.

Beach users often use a range of strategies to shelter from the wind and blown sand. This involves building structures made of stacking stones. Different from other portable wind blockers, stone-made wind shelters can remain in the landscape for a long time. The process of stone removal from their original place and stone-stacking at another location has well-known effects on rock-dwelling wildlife. Less known are the impacts of stone wind shelters on biogeomorphological processes of beach-dune systems, especially those in arid coastlines, where foredunes formed by nebkhas are naturally discontinuous. This is the case of Playa del Inglés beach (Gran Canaria, Spain), the main sediment input to the Maspalomas dunefield, where the presence of stone wind shelters (goros) made by users has increased in recent decades following an increase of visitors. This research aims to investigate the effects of stone wind shelters on the dynamics of an arid beach-dune system at various spatiotemporal scales. The methodology includes the use of aerial photography to study the appearance and evolution of stone shelters in Playa del Inglés and some of their long-term effects on the foredune. Field data was also collected to investigate the effects that stone shelters have over a representative foredune nebkha in detail, by monitoring the changes (topography, airflow, and vegetation) of an individual landform as we progressively remove pebbles from a previously built stone shelter. Results show that stone stacking has an impact on airflow and sediment transport dynamics around landforms, limiting sediment accumulation inside nebkhas and therefore arid foredune growth. Stone stacking also constrict vegetation growth and its ability to retain sediment. The impacts of these artificial structures can be reverted following their removal but that the process of dismantling stones must be carefully planned. We elaborate some recommendations here to do it avoid damaging foredune vegetation.

Coastal dune fields and other coastal arid environments are dynamic ecosystems that provide a wide range of functions and services, many still insufficiently understood, and are of particular importance amid ongoing global change and increasing anthropogenic pressure. In this paper, we present our experience applying a DIY wireless wind data-acquisition system across six coastal dune-field studies covering diverse applications in aeolian process research. The system measures wind direction and speed over an extended area, sampling multiple points simultaneously within a single experimental session. The DIY approach offers notably lower cost and greater flexibility than commercial off-the-shelf alternatives. Findings across the six studies have been diverse, ranging from on-site modelling of dune behaviour to establishing the interconnection of marine and terrestrial areas in coastal beach zones, with implications for environmental management. As most similar DIY sensor-network applications have been reported as single case studies, applying the same system across six studies over the years is the main contribution of this work. Finally, from this experience, a straightforward four-phase methodology was formulated for implementation.

El sistema dunar de Maspalomas (Gran Canaria) ha estado expuesto a un fuerte impacto humano desde mediados del siglo pasado por el desarrollo urbano turístico en sus inmediaciones y la elevada presión que esto supone sobre el espacio. En 2020,debido al confinamiento social derivado de la pandemia de COVID-19,se produjo una interrupción temporal de la actividad humana en la Reserva Natural Especial de las Dunas de Maspalomas. Durante este periodo, se redujo el elevado número de turistas diarios y cesaron los servicios de playa (a excepción de determinadas labores). Esta pausa temporal de la presión antrópica permitió detectar, caracterizar y cuantificar los efectos que producen los lotes de hamacas localizados en la playa de El Inglés sobre el viento y el transporte de sedimento desde la playa hacia el interior del sistema dunar. Para ello, se ha analizado la evolución histórica de la superficie dunar (1961-2021), junto con trabajo de campo para el estudio y la caracterización del viento y del sedimento en condiciones pre-COVID-19 (con actividad normal del servicio de hamacas) y post-Covid-19 (sin hamacas).