Monitoring Vegetation Expansion in Mariscadero Dune Field, Using Remote Sensing Data. An Approach to the Study of Dune Stabilization

Globally, coastal dune fields show "greening" trends in various environments, associated with expanding vegetation cover. This phenomenon suggests the stabilization of dune fields, leading to significant changes in sedimentation dynamics and landscape evolution. This remote sensing-based analysis aims to track the "greening" of the Mariscadero dune as an indicator of its stabilization, driven by anthropogenic and natural influences. Data from Landsat 5 TM, 7 ETM+, 8 OLI, 9 OLI, and Sentinel-2 were used to model the evolution of vegetation cover (using NDVI and SAVI indices), and Sen slope values and Tau from the Mann-Kendall test were employed to quantify and model changes in the dune field. ERA5-Land data were used to assess regional climatology. Results indicate that the forestry industry and vegetation near the coast are continuously expanding, positioning this dune as an ideal area to study this phenomenon.