Forest-cover change in the Andes: a multi-scale analysis of Northern Argentina in comparison with the other tropical countries

GRAU, H.R.; ARÁOZ, E.; GUTIÉRREZ, J.; NANNI, S.; POWELL, P.; CARILLA, J.; AIDE, M.

Berlín

Encuentro; II Global Land Project Open Science Meeting; 2014

Broad scale analyses using MODIS suggest that the dominant recent trend in South American montane ecosystems has been an increase in woody vegetation (Aide et al. 2013). Furthermore, there is evidence of woody vegetation encroachment into the grassland ecosystems of the paramos, altiplano, and puna. Here, we analyze forest cover dynamics in northern Argentina in comparison with other tropical Andean forests (Bolivia, Perú, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela) at different elevational zones. While the continental MODIS analysis provides an extensive and updated description of patterns, the local case studies allow to better relate changes with human and biophysical controls and driving forces, and to extend the time horizon to several decades. In all the tropical Andean countries, forest expansion exceeded deforestation. Low elevation forest expansion was prevalent in Colombia and Bolivia. The low-elevation studies in Argentina (