This study aims to analyze temporal changes in land use and land cover change (LUCC) as well as identify areas for natural regeneration and potential areas for forest restoration in the Huasteca region for the period ...This study aims to analyze temporal changes in land use and land cover change (LUCC) as well as identify areas for natural regeneration and potential areas for forest restoration in the Huasteca region for the period from 1976 to 2007. Changes were quantified in numbers and, additionally, cartography was used to identify and map the main affected areas. Different models based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) demonstrated that LUCC have occurred on an area of 11718.82 km2, representing 17.84% of the region’s surface. Agriculture and the growth of pasture could be identified as the main human-induced activities that have led to landscape modification. In addition, forest cover is affected by a deforestation rate which is higher than the national average. Further important changes include a change from natural land cover to non-original land cover, affecting an area of 4911.88 km2 in the period from 1976-1993, and an area of 1892.5 km2 in the period from 1993-2002. Smaller changes could be observed for the period from 1993-2002 with an affected area of 1029.78 km2. At the same time, a natural regeneration from nonoriginal to original land cover took place from 1976-1993 on an area of 1318.68 km2, and also on an area of 974.18 km2 between 1993 an 2002. The surface that underwent a natural regeneration of forest cover made up 1932.07 km2. At the same time, an area of 5739.29 km2 for potential forest restoration was identified. Drawing on GIS methods and techniques, the development of thematic maps for land use, land use and land cover changes for the years of analysis (1976-1993-2002-2007) proved to be very adequate for the evaluation and analysis of the land cover and land use change, in particular with regard to the decrease of natural vegetation cover.展开更多
Deforestation and fragmentation of tropical forest are the most serious threats to biodiversity. In the lowlands of the Huasteca Potosina region, Mexico, more than 95,000 ha of tropical forest have disappeared. This p...Deforestation and fragmentation of tropical forest are the most serious threats to biodiversity. In the lowlands of the Huasteca Potosina region, Mexico, more than 95,000 ha of tropical forest have disappeared. This paper analyses tree species composition in tropical forest patches of this highly deforested region, located in northeast of Mexico. At present, only 57 remnants of arboreal vegetation larger than ten hectares still remain standing, which cover 6117 ha. These decreasing fragments host 140 floristic species, representing 42 families and 85 genera. Compared with previous inventories, these data show a sharp drop in species composition. Most of the forest remnants contain less than 50% of the floristic diversity recorded by previous surveys, particularly in the medium subperennial tropical forest.展开更多
文摘This study aims to analyze temporal changes in land use and land cover change (LUCC) as well as identify areas for natural regeneration and potential areas for forest restoration in the Huasteca region for the period from 1976 to 2007. Changes were quantified in numbers and, additionally, cartography was used to identify and map the main affected areas. Different models based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) demonstrated that LUCC have occurred on an area of 11718.82 km2, representing 17.84% of the region’s surface. Agriculture and the growth of pasture could be identified as the main human-induced activities that have led to landscape modification. In addition, forest cover is affected by a deforestation rate which is higher than the national average. Further important changes include a change from natural land cover to non-original land cover, affecting an area of 4911.88 km2 in the period from 1976-1993, and an area of 1892.5 km2 in the period from 1993-2002. Smaller changes could be observed for the period from 1993-2002 with an affected area of 1029.78 km2. At the same time, a natural regeneration from nonoriginal to original land cover took place from 1976-1993 on an area of 1318.68 km2, and also on an area of 974.18 km2 between 1993 an 2002. The surface that underwent a natural regeneration of forest cover made up 1932.07 km2. At the same time, an area of 5739.29 km2 for potential forest restoration was identified. Drawing on GIS methods and techniques, the development of thematic maps for land use, land use and land cover changes for the years of analysis (1976-1993-2002-2007) proved to be very adequate for the evaluation and analysis of the land cover and land use change, in particular with regard to the decrease of natural vegetation cover.
文摘Deforestation and fragmentation of tropical forest are the most serious threats to biodiversity. In the lowlands of the Huasteca Potosina region, Mexico, more than 95,000 ha of tropical forest have disappeared. This paper analyses tree species composition in tropical forest patches of this highly deforested region, located in northeast of Mexico. At present, only 57 remnants of arboreal vegetation larger than ten hectares still remain standing, which cover 6117 ha. These decreasing fragments host 140 floristic species, representing 42 families and 85 genera. Compared with previous inventories, these data show a sharp drop in species composition. Most of the forest remnants contain less than 50% of the floristic diversity recorded by previous surveys, particularly in the medium subperennial tropical forest.
