Remote sensing of montane forest degradation in southern Ecuador

A substantial body of remote sensing literature focusses on the lowland tropical forests, particularly those in the Brazilian Amazon Basin. By contrast, literature dealing specifically on the montane forests of the Andes is sparse, despite the fact that montane forests influence the hydrologic, edaphic, and biologic integrity of the Amazon Basin and the Andean region. For these reasons, the protection of montane forests should be a priority for scientists and researchers interested in land management and conservation in the tropics. This dissertation measured regional scale anthropogenic changes in montane forests (elevation range 800-3,000 meters) on the eastern side of Podocarpus National Park. The park is located along the border of Ecuador's southern provinces of Loja and Zamora-Chinchipe (approximately 4 degrees South latitude, 78 degrees West longitude). The research used MSS and TM satellite imagery to quantify the degradation of montane forests between 1980 and 1991.;The dissertation assessed the advantages and disadvantages of using remote sensing to monitor montane forests in the tropics. It discusses specific difficulties that hinder the full implementation of current image processing techniques to monitoring tropical forests in mountainous terrain. The research specifically tested whether: (1) MSS imagery detects deforestation in montane topography with enough clarity to discriminate and quantify the landscape's spatial patterns that characterize human activities such as mining, agricultural colonization, and road construction, and (2) Remotely sensed data can be integrated with in situ measurements, such as those being gathered by botanists and ecologists to assess biodiversity, and improve the management of montane forests.;The project used ERDAS image processing and ARC/INFO GIS software with aerial photography and topographic maps at a scale of 1:50,000. The thematic maps derived from satellite imagery were verified with "ground truth" and reconnaissance of the study area conducted by the author during four months of field work in 1980 and 1991. The techniques used and the results obtained in this investigation suggest improved ways to conserve and manage forest resources in the Andes of South America. This information may not be able to stop the destruction of tropical montane forests but could reduce the uncertainties of the policy debate about their protection and conservation.