Original paper
Photo-interpretation and diachronic analysis of land use and vegetation changes in the Baztan Valley (Navarre, Spain) between 1927 and 2019
Müller, Jonas V.; Castro, Beatriz; Altuna, Joseba Garmendia; Tamayo-Uria, Ibon; Aldezabal, Arantza
Phytocoenologia Band 52 Heft 1 (2024), p. 97 - 113
53 references
published: Aug 3, 2024
published online: Jul 4, 2024
manuscript accepted: Jun 12, 2024
final revised version received: Jun 11, 2024
manuscript revision requested: May 27, 2024
manuscript received: Jan 16, 2024
ArtNo. ESP024005201007, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
Anthropogenic modifications of the natural landscape, such as alterations of natural land patterns, are important drivers of global change. However, certain traditional ways of living and related economic activities are strategies that allow for sustainable landscape management and rural development. For an adequate territorial planning, adjusted to the locally available resources, it is necessary to use existing ecological knowledge and to apply landscape metrics, in order to assure the ecological sustainability of the future landscapes. The landscape metrics are elaborated with assisted mapping tools (geographic information systems). In this study, land use and vegetation changes of the territory of the Baztan Valley (Navarre, Spain) which occurred in a time period of almost a century (1927–2019) were analysed through the interpretation of orthophotos, in order to infer the landscape change. 132 grid cells of 1 × 1 km2, distributed across three different pre-defined zones (mountain, valley, urban), were randomly selected. Multiple landscape metrics on vegetation and landscape scales were used. The underlying assumption was that observed land use and vegetation changes would depend on the type of zone. Our results show that landscape fragmentation increased and that the habitats of greatest interest from an environmental point of view and for traditional livestock use (such as grasslands) decreased in size as a result of the abandonment of the traditional pastoral use. We observed a process of scrub expansion and an increase of the areas covered by native forests, plantations with non-native, coniferous trees, and buildings and infrastructure. Taxonomic reference: I. Aizpuru Oiarbide, K. Aseginolaza Iparragirre, P. M. Uribe-Echebarría Díaz, P. Urrutia Uriarte & I. Zorrakin Altube (1999), Claves ilustradas de la flora del País Vasco y territorios limítrofes. Vitoria-Gasteiz: Servicio Central de Publicaciones del Gobierno Vasco.
Keywords
Land use change • anthropogenic change • landscape metrics • landscape closure • vegetation class • territorial planning • conservation • livestock use • geographic information systems • sustainable management