Dynamics of land use and land cover change in the Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve (2006-2016)

The Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve (RBLT in Spanish) harbors one of the last remnants of tropical evergreen forest (BTP) and of cloud forest (BM,M) on the coastal plain of the Gulf of Mexico. However, in recent decades it has lost similar to 60% of its cover. Accurate, detailed information on the dynamics of land use change is essential for implementing management and conservation plans relevant to the current and future situations in any region. Our objective was to identify the recent dynamics of spatio-temporal changes in land use and vegetation cover within the RBLT, with a high degree of accuracy. Three satellite images (2006, 2011 and 2016) were evaluated by manual photointerpretation at a fixed scale of 1:5,000. From 2006 to 2016, the deforestation rate was 0.8% per year, and the most deforested category was forested riparian belts (similar to 1,300 ha). Close to 550 ha of grasslands were converted into crop-fields, suggesting a change in economic activity in parts of the reserve's buffer zone. Given the ecological importance of the riparian belts as elements that connect the landscape, their protection is particularly urgent in the buffer zone. The core zones have protected BTP and BMM efficiently from deforestation.