Monitoring Vegetation Change in the El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve, Sonora, Mexico (1994-2005)

Abstract

At a time of increasing climatological and anthropogenic impacts, managers of Natural Protected Areas in Mexico require monitoring efforts to assess the ecological integrity of their regions and adapt management activities accordingly. However, for many of these areas, like the Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve (PBR), the location and extent of land cover impacts are generally unknown. An analysis of the natural vegetation of this area, with the use of several remote sensing techniques, concluded that it continues to be relatively stable at a landscape level. Any perceivable changes appear to be the result of natural vegetative response to climatological factors affecting this protected area. However, these same results show that the plant communities located on the PBR are more sensitive to change, making them especially vulnerable to continuous drought and other impacts due to human activities such as groundwater depletion and mass tourism from nearby communities.