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Vulnerability assessment is a complex process that combines biophysical, social and economic factors. Its study is essential for decision-making in the framework of environmental management and ecosystem conservation. The purpose of this study focused on proposing and developing a methodology to assess the vulnerability of the vegetation cover of the Pisba moorland complex (Department of Boyacá). Using spatial analysis techniques and an Analytical Hierarchy Approach (ahp) based on expert consultation, the vulnerability index was calculated. 25 variables grouped into 11 factors that reflect the sensitivity, exposure and resilience of the ecosystem were identified. 18.06 % of the area presents high vulnerability and 59.98 % low vulnerability. The factors with the highest incidence were state of the vegetation, abiotic conditions and connectivity. The most vulnerable areas corresponded to pasture and crop cover on the edge of the moorland and the level of natural cover, the Andean forests. The study provides a systematic methodology for the quantification and characterization of vulnerability in order to facilitate its replicability in other moorland complexes in the country, for better management and conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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There are urban dynamics favored by a market-centered urban development model, which in recent decades have pressed the natural ecosystems of the metropolitan areas of Chile, degrading these urban commons and generating environmental conflicts. We study the case of the Boca Maule estuary basin south of the Metropolitan Area of Concepción (AMC), the city of Coronel, which has accelerated urbanization patterns since the 1990s. This basin houses a wetland of high ecological interest, both for its extension, biodiversity and for its environmental fragility. Here we evaluate the changes in soil cover between 2001 and 2016, through supervised classification of satellite images. We can see the reduction of the surface of the wetland, which has been replaced by residential, industrial and road infrastructure, as well as exotic plantations. These processes trigger aggressive competition over time for the uses between two coverage that produce an enclosure effect on each other: Wetland-Urban Land and Wetland-Forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a context of urban planning in which the priority of the elements of the ecological structure has been declared, but the supply of soils to support a coverage that provide ecosystem goods and services could be insufficient, it is presented a contribution to the discussion of how to achieve a balance between densification and provision of these goods and services, through reconstruction of the coverage transformation of a segment of the Fucha river basin in Bogotá in a span of 77 years and the characterization of the relations of such transformation with city planning and management instruments. The results suggest urban a paradoxical post factum urban planning, with constraints to drive the territory occupation, from which aridity intensification can be expected. These results support the conclusions on the need to rethink the regulation on consolidated urban areas and introduce coverage management instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis of the horizontal structure of the land covers of Yacambú National Park was carried out in order to determine its conservation conditions during the period 2000-2008, taking temporal evolution and structural composition into account. The temporal evolution, achieved by overlaying cover maps obtained from satellite images, revealed the existence of a high degree of cover conservation in areas distant from access roads and an important deterioration in the bordering areas due to the expansion of the agricultural frontier. The structural composition obtained from calculating structural indexes point to fragmentation processes in some natural covers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Ambiente e Água is the property of Revista Ambiente e Agua and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)