Landscape dynamics in the Northern Zone of Costa Rica: implications for the conservation of very humid tropical forest
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| Autores: | , , , |
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| Formato: | artículo original |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de Publicación: | 2010 |
| Descripción: | The lowlands of the Caribbean slope of northern Costa Rica constitute one of the priority hotspots for biodiversity conservation in Mesoamerica.Nevertheless, the landscape has undergone a process of strong fragmentation that threatens its connectivity between protected areas in Costa Rica and southeastern Nicaragua. We analyze the dynamics of the landscape between 1987 and 2005 by means of the classification of Landsat TM satellite images (1987, 1998, 2005) and identify seven classes of cover and land use (natural forest, secondary forest, water, agriculture and pasture, banana, pineapple and bare ground). We highlight vulnerability areas as an input for maintaining theecological connectivity of the natural ecosystems within land planning processes in four rural municipalities (8,138 km2). Results show a fragmented landscape with important remnants of natural ecosystems in the border zone with Nicaragua, the atlantic coast and intermediate and high elevations on the skirts of the Central Volcanic Mountain Range. The annual rate of deforestation is 0.88% for the 1987-1998 period, and 0.73% for the 1998-2005 period, even though processes of recovery of secondary forest are considered. Deforestation rates are higher than national averages for the same time span. In spite of governmental policies that favor the conservation of the natural ecosystems,this study highlights the need to propose more efficient conservation actions on behalf of the tropical rain forest. |
| País: | Portal de Revistas UNA |
| Institución: | Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica |
| Repositorio: | Portal de Revistas UNA |
| Lenguaje: | Español |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ojs.www.una.ac.cr:article/7661 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://www.revistas.una.ac.cr/index.php/ambientales/article/view/7661 |
| Palabra clave: | Cobertura del uso del suelo deforestación fragmentación paisaje Land use cover deforestation fragmentation landscape |