Land Use and Land Cover Changes in the Diversity and Life Zone for Uncontacted Indigenous People: Deforestation Hotspots in the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, Ecuadorian Amazon

Emma Torres,Carlos G H Díaz-Ambrona,Salvatore Eugenio Pappalardo,Marco Heredia-R,Francisco Cabrera-Torres,Bolier Torres

doi:10.3390/f12111539

Abstract

Land use and land cover change (LULC) is an essential component for the monitoring environmental change and managing natural resources in areas of high natural and cultural biodiversity, such as the Amazon biome. This study was conducted in in the northern Amazon of Ecuador, specifically in the Diversity and Life Zone (DLZ) of the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve (YBR). The general aim was to investigate the territorial dynamics of land use/land cover changes to support policies for environmental and sociocultural protection in the DLZ. Specific objectives included (i) mapping LULC spatial and temporal dynamics in the DLZ in the period from 1999 to 2018, (ii) identifying sensitive LULC hotspots within the DLZ, and (iii) defining the possible policy implications for sustainable land use in the DLZ. Multitemporal satellite imagery from the Landsat series was used to map changes in LULC, which were divided into three-time stages (1999–2009, 2009–2018, 1999–2018). We adopted open-access Landsat images downloaded from the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The processes for assessing LULC in the DLZ included (1) data collection and analysis, (2) data processing for remote sensing, (3) thematic land cover, and (4) homogenization and vectorization of images. The results showed that in the period 1999–2018, most of the uses and land cover were transformed into pastures in the DLZ. Therefore, it is important to improve territorial planning, to avoid conflicts between indigenous populations, migrant settlers, and uncontacted indigenous populations that live in the DLZ, within the YBR.

Highlights

Land use and land cover change (LULC) has become a fundamental and essential component in current strategies that concern monitoring environmental change and managing natural resources [1,2]
Based on the LULC analyses of Landsat data for the years 1999, 2009, and 2018, it was found that the LULC trends varied; these results provide an important platform for further analysis of LULC
In the period 1999–2018, most land uses and land cover were transformed into grasslands in the northern and southern zone of the Diversity and Life Zone (DLZ)

Summary

Introduction

Land use and land cover change (LULC) has become a fundamental and essential component in current strategies that concern monitoring environmental change and managing natural resources [1,2]. Rapid changes in LULC, in developing countries [6,7,8], have resulted in the depletion of vital resources, including water, soil, and vegetation [9,10]. Due to their speed, extent, and intensity, they have numerous critical global implications [11,12], on natural resources [12] and on greenhouse gas emissions from land use change [13,14,15]. The increasing change is alarming and may have a significant impact on the local [16], regional [17], national [18], and global environment [3,19]

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Conclusion