Journal
LAND
Volume 6, Issue 3, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/land6030046
Keywords
land-use and land-cover change; paramo; drivers; forestry policy; Surface Reflectance Calibrated Image Archive; Ecuador
Categories
Funding
- National Secretariat of Higher Education, Science and Technology and Innovation (SENESCYT)
- Government of Ecuador
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Land use and land cover were mapped between 3500 and 5000 meters above sea level m.a.s.l. in the Rio Chambo basin in south-central Ecuador from Landsat MSS, TM, ETM and OLI imagery acquired between 1979 and 2014. The area mapped has been dominated by paramo and a variety of agricultural land uses since 1979. The main land-use transitions have been from paramo to agriculture, native forest to paramo and agriculture, and agriculture back to paramo. Significant areas of paramo have remained unchanged over the 35-year period analyzed, while the area of native forest has declined and that of bare soil increased. Plantations of non-native timber species increased from 1979 to 1999, but their area has now declined. Most land-use transformations have occurred at lower elevations in the 3500-5000 m.a.s.l. range. This is particularly the case for the loss of native forest and the degradation of paramo and agriculture to areas of bare (eroded) soils. A drivers-based approach revealed that these land-use transformations were related to import substitution and afforestation policies geared toward internal markets, exports and environmental conservation.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available