Land‐Use and Land‐Cover Change in the Páramo of South‐Central Ecuador, 1979–2014

Cristina Ross, Stephen Fildes and Andrew Millington
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Cristina Ross: School of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Universidad de Guayaquil, Guayaquil EC190150, Ecuador
Stephen Fildes: School of the Environment, Flinders University, PO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
Andrew Millington: School of the Environment, Flinders University, PO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia

Land, 2017, vol. 6, issue 3, 1-20

Abstract: Land use and land cover were mapped between 3500 and 5000 meters above sea level m.a.s.l. in the Río Chambo basin in south-central Ecuador from Landsat MSS, TM, ETM and OLI imagery acquired between 1979 and 2014. The area mapped has been dominated by páramo and a variety of agricultural land uses since 1979. The main land-use transitions have been from páramo to agriculture, native forest to páramo and agriculture, and agriculture back to páramo. Significant areas of páramo have remained unchanged over the 35-year period analyzed, while the area of native forest has declined and that of bare soil increased. Plantations of non-native timber species increased from 1979 to 1999, but their area has now declined. Most land-use transformations have occurred at lower elevations in the 3500–5000 m.a.s.l. range. This is particularly the case for the loss of native forest and the degradation of páramo and agriculture to areas of bare (eroded) soils. A drivers-based approach revealed that these land-use transformations were related to import substitution and afforestation policies geared toward internal markets, exports and environmental conservation.

Keywords: land-use and land-cover change; páramo; drivers; forestry policy; Surface Reflectance Calibrated Image Archive; Ecuador (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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