Modeling of land use/cover changes: prospective scenarios in the Estado de Mexico. Case study - Amanalco de Becerra

Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the dynamics and processes of change that have occurred in the municipality of Amanalco de Becerra, State of Mexico, through the construction of a spatially explanatory model of land use/cover changes (LUCC). The modeling process was carried out using DINAMICA EGO , a mapping tool. Land use/cover maps for the years 1989, 1997 and 2009, as well as various explanatory physical-geographical, environmental and land tenure proximity variables, were used as map inputs. The LUCC for 2020 were modelled under two scenarios: 1) the trend model, which assumes that the annual change rates for the period 1997-2009 remain unaltered, and 2) the agropastoral model, which assumes that annual deforestation rates increase because of the establishment and development of farming activities. The analysis of the absolute values of the forest category, for each year, shows a trend towards the loss of forest cover; by contrast, the annual rates of change in the forest category show a trend towards recovery-revegetation-reforestation processes, as a result of the implementation of government environmental programs.