Grupo de Geografía Física y Medio Ambiente, Instituto de Oceanografía y Cambio Global, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Unidad Asociada ULPGC-CSIC, Telde, 35214, Spain.
Beach and Dune Systems (BEADS) Laboratory, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Ecology. 2019 May;100(5):e02678. doi: 10.1002/ecy.2678. Epub 2019 Mar 29.
The impact of ecological light pollution involves alteration of periods of natural light, a fact that has proven effects on ecosystems. Few studies have focused on the impact of this pollution on wild plant species, and none on coastal dune plants. Many coastal dunes and their plants are adjacent to tourist areas, and these might be affected by light pollution. Such is the case of the Natural Reserve Dunas de Maspalomas (Gran Canaria), where some individuals of the plant species Traganum moquinii, located in the El Inglés beach foredune zone, are affected by light pollution. This study examines the effect of light pollution on the flowering process and, by extension, the reproductive cycle of these plants. Plants located closer to high artificial illumination sources receive ~2,120 h/yr of intense light more than plants located furthest from those artificial lighting sources. Parts of the plants of Traganum moquinii exposed directly to the artificial light show a significant decrease in the production of flowers, compared to the parts in plants in shade, and to the plants more distant from artificial lights. In consequence, plants exposed more directly to artificial light have a lower potential for seed reproduction. The spectrum of artificial light also affects the plants, and light between 600 and 700 nm primarily affects the reproductive cycle of the Traganum moquinii species. The implications for the ecological and geomorphological functioning of the dune system are discussed, because this species plays a decisive role in the formation of foredune zones and nebkhas in arid dune systems.
光污染对生态的影响涉及自然光周期的改变，这一事实已被证明对生态系统有影响。很少有研究关注这种污染对野生植物物种的影响，更没有研究关注沿海沙丘植物。许多沿海沙丘及其植物都毗邻旅游区，这些地区可能会受到光污染的影响。大加那利岛的自然保护区沙丘（Maspalomas）就是这种情况，在那里，一些位于 El Inglés 海滩前沙丘区的 Traganum moquinii 植物个体受到光污染的影响。本研究考察了光污染对这些植物开花过程的影响，以及对其繁殖周期的影响。与远离这些人工照明光源的植物相比，靠近高强度人工照明光源的植物每年接受的光照时间约为 2120 小时。暴露在人工光下的 Traganum moquinii 植物的部分部位与处于阴凉处的植物部分部位以及与远离人工光源的植物部分部位相比，花朵的产量明显减少。因此，暴露在人工光下的植物繁殖种子的潜力较低。人工光的光谱也会影响植物，600 到 700nm 之间的光主要影响 Traganum moquinii 物种的繁殖周期。还讨论了这种光污染对沙丘系统生态和地貌功能的影响，因为该物种在干旱沙丘系统的前沙丘区和 Nebkhas 的形成中起着决定性的作用。
