Relationships between coastal sand dune properties and plant community distribution: The case of Is Arenas (Sardinia)

Coastal dune environments are selective ecosystems characterized by a close interaction between abiotic and biotic factors in a dynamic balance. The present study focused on the psammophilous geosigmetum, the most affected by the interactions between physical processes and biological and anthropic processes. The main purpose was to study the relationships between the abiotic properties of the dune and the presence of the various plant communities, combining morpho-sedimentological, geopedological, and geobotanical data. The study was carried out on the well-preserved dune system of Is Arenas (CW Sardinia) which is one of the most important in the Mediterranean area. The analyses revealed differences at the morphodynamic, sedimentological, and geopedological levels. The micro-topography of the dunes affects the values of the main abiotic variables, and determines the presence of various microhabitats of great heterogeneity. This work shows that the data on the geomorphological dynamics and the chemical–physical processes, correlated with the geobotanical analyses, might make it possible to identify the ecosystemic processes, and thereby plan adequate management and conservation strategies for this coastal dune system.