GIS-Based Multicriteria Evaluation of Land Suitability for Grasslands Conservation in Chihuahua, Mexico

Griselda Vázquez-Quintero, Jesús A. Prieto-Amparán, Alfredo Pinedo-Alvarez, María C. Valles-Aragón, Carlos R. Morales-Nieto and Federico Villarreal-Guerrero
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Griselda Vázquez-Quintero: Facultad de Ciencias Agrotecnológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Ave. Pascual Orozco s/n, Campus 1, Chihuahua, Chihuahua 31350, Mexico
Jesús A. Prieto-Amparán: Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Periférico Francisco R. Almada Km 1, Chihuahua, Chihuahua 31453, Mexico
Alfredo Pinedo-Alvarez: Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Periférico Francisco R. Almada Km 1, Chihuahua, Chihuahua 31453, Mexico
María C. Valles-Aragón: Facultad de Ciencias Agrotecnológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Ave. Pascual Orozco s/n, Campus 1, Chihuahua, Chihuahua 31350, Mexico
Carlos R. Morales-Nieto: Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Periférico Francisco R. Almada Km 1, Chihuahua, Chihuahua 31453, Mexico
Federico Villarreal-Guerrero: Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Periférico Francisco R. Almada Km 1, Chihuahua, Chihuahua 31453, Mexico

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: This study developed a GIS-based framework for the zoning of land suitability for grassland conservation (LSGC) in the Central Valleys of Chihuahua, México. For that, a Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based multicriteria evaluation techniques with weighted overlay (MCE-WO), and a fragmentation analysis were performed. The framework for LSGC consisted in the development of four scenarios: Nonintensive Agriculture, Intensive Agriculture, Urban, and Rural. The LSGC classes defined with the MCE-WO technique were: Very high, High, Moderate, Low, and Very low land suitability. Results showed that the zone with a high suitability covered the largest area in the four scenarios with a surface of 44,264 km 2 . The zones with low and very low suitability were concentrated mainly in the central region of the study area. At the landscape level, fragmentation of LSGC showed the Nonintensive Agriculture and the Rural scenarios with the highest Number of patches (54,640 and 46,210, respectively). The fragmentation of LSGC, under the scenarios evaluated, was mainly due to land opening for agriculture and to the influence of rural communities. The integration of GIS with MCE-WO is useful and effective for the evaluation of LSGC. This tool can provide a solid source of information for decision-makers regarding planning of land use to mitigate grasslands degradation.

Keywords: conservation zones; MCE; weighted overlay; fragmentation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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