Análisis multitemporal de deforestación en el parque nacional PODOCARPUS (PNP) y su zona de amortiguamiento

Abstract

This research was developed in the Podocarpus National Park (PNP) and its buffer zone, that it is located in the southern part of Ecuador, a zone of high concentration of biodiversity, between Loja and Zamora Chinchipe provinces. Deforestation was studied through the analysis of land-use change of satellite images Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI over two time periods, 1989 – 2001 and 2001 – 2020 using the free access software TerrSet, Erdas Imagine and ArcMap 10.3. Through satellite image interpretation techniques, it was created the supervised classification of the years 1989, 2001 and 2020. These images analyzed the changes in land use and estimated the rate of deforestation by applying an equation formulated by Puyravaud (2003) where forest areas are applied at the start and end date. For the period 1989 – 2001 it was -0.08% and for the period 2001 – 2020 it was -0.15%. The main change in land use was determined by the conversion of forests to grasslands, due to the increase in agricultural activities and the opening of access roads, which facilitates the invasion of the territory and its conversion to agricultural land, in addition, the pressure for mining activities and wood extraction, especially species such as Romerillo. The results obtained showed how land use has evolved over the NPP study period despite being part of an intangible zone since its declaration in 1982. These results also showed that work should be done on new guidelines focused on the territorial management of the area surrounding the forest, the establishment and order of responsible forest management in the buffer zone designed in a participatory manner with the surrounding community, in this way, all involved will add efforts for optimal conservation of the park.