Estado de neutralidad en la degradación de la tierra en el Chaco Salteño entre 2001 y 2018

CÓRDOBA, GISELA S.; GUEVARA, ARANZAZÚ; CASTRILLO, SILVANA; CAMARDELLI, MARÍA C.

ECOLOGÍA AUSTRAL

ASOCIACIÓN ARGENTINA DE ECOLOGÍA

Año: 2022 vol. 32 p. 864 - 877

0327-5477

State of neutrality in land degradation in the Chaco Salteño between 2001 and 2018. Within the framework of the 2030 Agenda for the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SDG 15 promotes “Life on land”, and Target 15.3 focuses on achieving land degradation neutrality (LDN). This work is focused on the Chaco Salteño region and the semi-arid Chaco pilot site in the province of Salta, Argentina (SPChS). The objectives are 1) to assess the state of LDN in the Chaco Salteño region and in the SPChS between 2001 and 2018, and 2) to determine the structural variables of the vegetation and physical-chemical properties of the soil at a local scale that can be used to complement the LDN evaluation. To evaluate the status of LDN, the indicators of changes in land cover and in aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) were calculated, based on the coverage maps of the MapBiomas Chaco Project - Collection 2.0 and MODIS biweekly products (MOD 13Q1, annual). To explore the relationship between ANPP with the vegetation and soil variables, a correlation analysis was performed. We found that 14.3% of the Chaco Salteño region experienced negative changes in coverage and 20.8% losses in ANPP associated mainly with the transition from areas with native forests to crops. Meanwhile, in the SPChS, these changes represent a low extension of the surface. The ANPP correlated significantly and positively, in particular, with vegetation cover, organic matter and aggregate stability, so these variables could be used as complementary indicators in the evaluation of LDN at a local scale. Finally, the results of this research constitute a first frame of reference to articulate priorities in the planning of LDN interventions in the Chaco Salteño region, and particularly in the SPChS.