Changes of Land Use and Land Cover in Hotspots Within the Western Amazon: The Case of the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve

Abstract

The predominant aim of the current research has been to quantify and map the pattern of changes in land use coverage (LULC), using a variety of tools of geographic information systems. The study area comprises the southern zone of the Diversity and Life Zone (DLZ), located in the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, within the western Amazonian lowland. The processes for conducting the LULC in the DLZ included 1) data collection and analysis, 2) remote sensing data processing, 3) thematic land cover and 4) transformation from raster to vector. The analysis period was of about ten years (2009–2018), with the use of Landsat 7−8 satellite images. The classified classes were forest, traditional productive system, herbaceous vegetation, infrastructure and water. It was determined that the herbaceous vegetation increased by 0.81%, as well as the surface of traditional productive systems by some 0.73%, while the forest decreased by 0.93%. Therefore, we may state that the LUCL allows different local and international actors to contribute in agri-environmental and conservation decisions in order to minimize deforestation within the study area.