GEOMORPHOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS AND LAND USE DYNAMICS IN A BRAZILIAN CERRADO PROTECTED AREA: RIO PANDEIROS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AREA

Spatiotemporal dynamics of land use and land cover in Ecuadorian Andes (1990–2020)

Protected areas, land-use dynamics and regional sustainable development: Evidence from the Rio da Barra watershed (Atlantic Forest, Brazil)

Tropical coastal watersheds face growing pressure from tourism, agriculture, and urban expansion, generating territorial conflicts that bear directly on regional planning. This study analysed land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics in the Rio da Barra watershed (460.6 km², Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil) between 1985 and 2021 and discussed their implications for territorial planning, regional sustainable development, and environmental governance in the Costa do Descobrimento, with particular attention to the role of the Pau Brasil National Park as a territorial protection instrument. We used MapBiomas Collection 7.1 LULC data, with an overall accuracy exceeding 88%, processed in Google Earth Engine and QGIS 3.34.12; watershed boundaries were delineated from an SRTM-derived digital elevation model and ANA hydrographic data. Native forest cover declined by 3.81 percentage points (174.4 km² to 156.9 km²) between 1985 and 2021, while pastureland expanded by 3.41 percentage points (10.8 km² to 26.3 km²); silviculture increased from 0.13 km² to 2.94 km², and urban area, absent in 1985, reached 0.15 km² by 2021. These rates of change were markedly lower than in the neighbouring, unprotected Mucugê watershed, where native vegetation loss exceeded 46% over a comparable period. The Pau Brasil National Park overlaps 70.06% of the Rio da Barra watershed, and this spatial coincidence is the most plausible factor behind its comparatively contained land-use change relative to nearby unprotected basins. The findings indicate that the proportion of a watershed under formal protection is a relevant indicator not only of landscape-level forest retention but also of territorial stability of interest to regional planning, demonstrating that protected areas constitute strategic territorial assets capable of reconciling biodiversity conservation with sustainable regional development.

Spatiotemporal Analysis of Land Use Dynamics in the Yıldız Mountains Basin, Türkiye: Strategic Evaluations From an Ecological Restoration Perspective

This study analyzed the spatial and temporal dynamics of land use and land cover changes in the Yıldız Mountains Basin between 1995 and 2025 and simulated future landscape trends for 2055. Controlled classification results obtained from Landsat Thematic Mapper and Operational Land Imager imagery were combined with the Cellular Automata–Markov model, and land transitions were quantitatively examined over the past 30 year period to generate projection-based estimates for future land cover. The model suggests that forest areas could increase from 85.65% in 1995 to approximately 97.69% in 2055, while agricultural areas are expected to decrease from 10.35% to 0.40%, and pasture areas are expected to decrease from 3.14% to 0.07%. These projected changes may be associated with rural population decline, agriculture abandonment, and natural succession, which can promote forest regeneration and ecological resilience. The projections indicate that forest ecosystems may continue to expand while preserving spatial continuity under conditions of limited human-driven land use. Overall, the findings highlight that the Yıldız Mountains Basin demonstrates strong ecological resilience, with natural restoration processes likely to dominate in the long term.

Recovery of forest cover and connectivity in a mountain ecosystem: evidence from Cofre de Perote National Park

Aim of study: To assess changes in land-use and landscape connectivity in Cofre de Perote National Park (CPNP), Mexico, from 2017 to 2024, and to understand how different management subzones influence land-use and forest-connectivity dynamics. Knowing more about these processes is essential to guide adaptive management in protected areas facing landscape dynamics due to anthropogenic activities. Area of study: This study was carried out in a high-altitude protected area located in the center of the state of Veracruz, Mexico, including its designated buffer zone. Material and methods: We classified the land use and vegetation cover of the CPNP using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m from 2017 to 2024, applying a Random Forest algorithm for classification. We assessed land use and land cover changes, as well as forest connectivity, across the park’s internal management subzones (22,330.47 ha), including forest restoration areas, traditional use, and public use zones, as well as a buffer zone located outside the park boundaries, using the Integral Index of Connectivity. Main results: From 2017 to 2024, forest cover increased by 1,290 ha within the park and 386 ha in the buffer zone, primarily replacing grasslands and, to a lesser extent, agricultural lands. Connectivity analysis showed significant improvements in forest cover connectivity values in the park, especially within the forest recovery subzone. However, traditional use and buffer zones exhibited mixed connectivity trends, with some areas experiencing declines due to land cover changes. Research highlights: Gains in forest cover and improved connectivity in key subzones represent an opportunity to increase ecosystem integrity and resilience in the face of threats posed by human activities around the CPNP. However, the situation in the buffer zone underscores the urgent need to implement integrated landscape management strategies that include the CPNP and adjacent areas to ensure long-term sustainability and resilience to current landscape dynamics.

Soil Erosion and Composite Land Degradation Using USLE Model and Geomatics Approaches for Soil Conservation of Mount Data Plateau

Topography and climate shape ecosystem distribution across Tierra del Fuego, Argentina: insights from high-resolution modelling