VEGETATIVE CHANGES WITHIN AREAS OF CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN IN TAOS AND RIO ARRIBA COUNTIES OF NORTHERN NEW MEXICO 2000 - 2020

Abstract

Climate change will likely lead to major changes in plant distribution and thus in biomes and habitats. Humans and other species will be affected as our ecology is intimately linked not only to climate but also to habitat availability. This study looks at the vegetative changes within the Bureau of Land Management’s Areas of Critical Environmental Concern designated areas. These areas are in Rio Arriba County and Taos County in New Mexico and the study is from 2000 and 2020 to determine if the Bureau of Land Management’s protective measures have helped mitigate drought effects within the region. The study area includes the Areas of Critical Environmental Concern designated areas of Lower Gorge, Copper Hill, Ojo Caliente, and the Taos Plateau, which cover approximately 327,040 acres within the two study counties. Using surface reflectance and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index analysis, datasets are compared for changes in vegetation health over 5-year increments – 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. Datasets are also compared between 2000 and 2020. Although precipitation levels fluctuate over the temporal extents and vegetation changes accordingly, overall, there has been a decline in vegetative cover over the entire study area. These vegetation changes are most drastic within the Ojo Caliente and Lower Gorge/Copper Hill Areas of Critical Environmental Concern. More research is needed to determine whether the Bureau of Land Management’s protective measures, or lack thereof, have contributed to the decline in vegetation, or if it has to do with the overall effects of long-term drought and climate change.