Spatial Dynamics of the Shore Coverage within the Zone of Influence of the Chambo River, Central Ecuador

Julie Echeverría-Puertas, Magdy Echeverría, Franklin Cargua and Theofilos Toulkeridis ()
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Julie Echeverría-Puertas: Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo (ESPOCH), Grupo de Investigación y Desarrollo para el Ambiente y Cambio Climático (GIDAC), 060101 Riobamba, Ecuador
Magdy Echeverría: Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo (ESPOCH), 060101 Riobamba, Ecuador
Franklin Cargua: Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo (ESPOCH), Grupo de Investigación y Desarrollo para el Ambiente y Cambio Climático (GIDAC), 060101 Riobamba, Ecuador
Theofilos Toulkeridis: Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra y de la Construcción, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Sangolquí 171103, Ecuador

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-21

Abstract: The predominant aim of the current study was to evaluate the spatial dynamics of the riparian coverage of the area of influence of the Chambo River in the area of the river’s source (middle-high basin), between 2500 and 3000 m.a.s.l. For its execution, Landsat 7 images from the year 2000, RapidEye from the year 2009, and Spot 6 from the year 2019 were used in the time range of 2000–2009 and 2009–2019. These were subjected to supervised classification by applying the maximum likelihood algorithm, identifying five classes of soil cover, being pasture, crops, soil-remnants of paramo, forest, and anthropic. The classification results were validated by calculating the precision measures and the kappa index. With the use of cross-tabulation matrices, the gains, losses, and persistence in the two periods studied were identified. There, it was determined that, in the first study period, the soil cover-paramo remnants presented the highest percentage of loss (26.70%), the crop cover the highest percentage of gain (28.91%), and in the second period, the crop class presented the highest percentages of losses (18.94%) and gains (17.29%). The cartographic projection of the area for the year 2030 predicts that the areas anthropic category will increase by 1.27%, that of forest will decrease by 1.19%, that of soil-remnants of paramo will gain 0.79%, and crop and pasture cover will decrease by 0.45% and 0.43%, respectively. The results obtained allow for the transitions between coverages to be attributed to population growth, afforestation, reforestation, deforestation and agricultural activities, volcanic eruptions, land colonization, and expansion of agricultural activity. Complementary studies are recommended that involve livelihoods and water quality, which facilitate the identification of vulnerable areas to propose adaptation, prevention, and/or restoration measures.

Keywords: Chambo River; Andean riparian area; spatial dynamics; land cover; supervised classification; cartographic projection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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