Evolution of Forest Fragmentation in Temperate and Tropical Forests in Mexico for 2002, 2008, and 2013

Mexico is considered to be "megadiverse" due to its rich biodiversity, therefore studying forest fragmentation in Mexico is fundamental in protecting the country's rich biodiversity as well as the forest ecosystem functions and services. This thesis develops a national level assessment of the fragmentation of the temperate and tropical forests in Mexico for three dates 2002, 2008 and 2013 (corresponding to the land use/cover layers known as Series III, IV and V created by the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia INEGI in Mexico). Then, the forest fragmentation classes identified for a date (e.g. 2002) are cross-referenced with the forest fragmentation classes identified for the next date (e.g. 2008) with the purpose of assessing how the forest area that falls in each of the fragmentation classes identified in this study are evolving in time. The same cross-reference process is carried out for 2008-2013 to analyze the changes during this period. This analytical process explores the trends in the relationship between fragmentation levels and changes in fragmentation of the forests that occur in different forest fragmentation classes over time. The Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA) method and the GUIDOS Toolbox will be used to identify the forest fragmentation classes. The INEGI Series III, IV and V land cover layers are used to extract the areas covered by temperate and tropical forests. A raster overlay with unique identifiers technique and the Tabulate Areas Tool in ArcGIS were used to carry out the cross-reference analysis. Understanding forest fragmentation is integral for biodiversity conservation. The results from this study can enhance the prioritization of conservation efforts of the remaining forests in Mexico.