Land cover changes in central Sonora Mexico

Diego Valdez-Zamudio; Alejandro Castellanos-Villegas; Stuart Marsh

Treesearch

Land cover changes in central Sonora Mexico

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Diego Valdez-Zamudio, Alejandro Castellanos-Villegas, Stuart Marsh

Year:

2000

Type:

Proceedings

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Source:

In: Ffolliott, Peter F.; Baker Jr., Malchus B.; Edminster, Carleton B.; Dillon, Madelyn C.; Mora, Karen L., tech. coords. Land Stewardship in the 21st Century: The Contributions of Watershed Management; 2000 March 13-16; Tucson, AZ. Proc. RMRS-P-13. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 349-351.

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Abstract

Remote sensing techniques have been demonstrated to be very effective tools to help detect, analyze, and evaluate land cover changes in natural areas of the world. Changes in land cover can generally be attributed to either natural or anthropogenic forces. Multitemporal satellite imagery and airborne videography were used to detect, analyze, and evaluate land cover changes in the central region of the Mexican State of Sonora. Observed land cover changes were analyzed in terms of the productive activity most likely responsible. The ecological consequences for the different impact intensity, area and percent of change are also discussed. Landsat MSS images were classified into five different land cover/land use categories for two time periods (1973 and 1992) and validated using airborne video imagery and fieldwork. About 85% of the entire land cover in the study area changed during that period of time. The Sinaloan thornscrub biotic community class had the highest rate of change; more than 28% of the original class evolved into other biotic categories.

Parent Publication

Land Stewardship in the 21st Century: The Contributions of Watershed Management; 2000 March 13-16; Tucson, AZ

Keywords

land stewardship, watershed management, ecosystem-based management, natural resources, conservation, sustainable development, sustainable use

Citation

Valdez-Zamudio, Diego; Castellanos-Villegas, Alejandro; Marsh, Stuart. 2000. Land cover changes in central Sonora Mexico. In: Ffolliott, Peter F.; Baker Jr., Malchus B.; Edminster, Carleton B.; Dillon, Madelyn C.; Mora, Karen L., tech. coords. Land Stewardship in the 21st Century: The Contributions of Watershed Management; 2000 March 13-16; Tucson, AZ. Proc. RMRS-P-13. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 349-351.