Monitoring land cover change of the dryland forest landscape of Central Chile (1975–2008)

Land cover and its configuration in the landscape are crucial components in the provision of biodiversity and ecosystem services. In Mediterranean regions, natural landscapes mostly covered by evergreen vegetation have been to a large extent transformed into cultural landscapes since long time ago. We investigated land cover changes in Central Chile using multi-temporal satellite imagery taken in 1975, 1985, 1999 and 2008. The major trends in this highly dynamic landscape were reduction of dryland forest and conversion of shrubland to intensive land uses such as farmland. The average net annual deforestation rate was −1.7%, and shrubland reduction occurred at an annual rate of −0.7%; agriculture, urban areas and timber plantations increased at annual rates of 1.1%, 2.7% and 3.2%, respectively, during the 1975–2008 period. Total forest and shrubland loss rates were partly offset by passive revegetation. However, most of the areas that were passively revegetated remained as shrubland and did not turn into forests due to a low capacity of forest recovery. This resulted in a progressive loss and degradation of dryland forest over the entire region. Overall, the documented land cover changes increase provisioning services such as crops, cattle, and timber that are characteristic of cultural landscapes in the area but may cause an irreversible loss of biodiversity and a depletion of other ecological services provided by forests and shrubland. The implications for conservation of this area and the need for territorial planning and adapted land-use strategies are discussed.