Abstract
Loss of vegetation cover is a major factor that endangers biodiversity. Therefore, the use of geographic information systems and the analysis of satellite images are important for monitoring these changes in Natural Protected Areas (NPAs). In northeastern Mexico, the Natural Protected Area Altas Cumbres (NPAAC) represents a relevant floristic and faunistic patch on which the impact of loss of vegetation cover has not been assessed. This work aimed to analyze changes of land use and coverage (LULCC) over the last 42 years on the interior and around the exterior of the area, and also to propose the time of succession for the most important types of vegetation. For the analysis, LANDSAT satellite images from 1973, 1986, 2000, 2005 and 2015 were used, they were classified in seven categories through a segmentation and maximum likelihood analysis. A cross-tabulation analysis was performed to determine the succession gradient. Towards the interior of the area, a significant reduction of tropical vegetation and, to a lesser extent, temperate forests was found, as well as an increase in scrub cover from 1973 to 2015. In addition, urban and vegetation-free areas, as well as modified vegetation, increased to the exterior. Towards the interior of the NPA, the processes of perturbation and recovery were mostly not linear, while in the exterior adjacent area, the presence of secondary vegetation with distinct definite time of succession was evident. The analysis carried out is the first contribution that evaluates LULCC in this important NPA of northeastern Mexico. Results suggest the need to evaluate the effects of these modifications on species.
Highlights
Disturbance is considered to be any event that abruptly changes the environmental conditions of the habitat [1]
This work is the first analysis on land use and land cover change (LULCC) for the Natural Protected Area Altas Cumbres (NPAAC)
Mexico is endowed with unique biodiversity; its conservation is of primary importance. It was decreed as protected area in 1997; there was a significant reduction in Temperate forests and Tropical vegetation categories from 1973 to 2015, while the Scrub vegetation cover increased during the same period
Summary
Disturbance is considered to be any event that abruptly changes the environmental conditions of the habitat [1]. It can be due to a variety of causes, both anthropogenic and natural, including forest fires, urbanization, and land modification as a result of intense agricultural and livestock activities [2]. These factors modify the structure of vegetation, and cause the loss of original plant cover [3,4,5]. In this sense, land use and land cover change (LULCC) is one of the main factors that has caused an accelerated global loss of biodiversity in recent years. The specific effects of these disturbances at local or microhabitat scales are very important on species communities [6].
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