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Title:
Monitoring and analysis of temporal trends in ecosystem functioning using remote sensing techniques in Al Hoceima NP and Tres Forcas SIBE (Eastern Rif, Morocco).
Author:
Juan Francisco Martínez Utrera.
Publication date:
2014
Abstract:
The current world’s scenario of global change requires the development of strategies to adapt and mitigate the changes brought by this phenomenon. Therefore, the monitoring and tracking of ecosystem functioning is a fundamental pillar to build such strategies through remote sensing techniques like vegetation indexes. Moreover, it allows evaluating current management politics by means of tracking both protected and non-protected areas, as well as different land covers too. Consequently, the purposes for the present study is the characterization of ecosystem functioning in 2 protected areas in north Morocco and data comparison with semiarid Iberian SE, as well as establish a base for an ecosystem functioning monitoring system for such 2 parks. For ecosystem functioning’s tracking we characterized the seasonal dynamics for some functioning descriptors (mean, seasonal coefficient of variation, maximum and minimum) using MODIS’s EVI index, which is a NPP’s surrogate; and we also carried out a trend analysis for these attributes in 2001-2013 period, and its spatial distribution too. Finally, and focused in a potential use in management, we determined the spatial anomalies for the mean attribute in 4 land covers (forest, crops, dense shrublands and sparse shrublands). Results showed that the used methods are useful to establish ecosystem seasonal dynamics. Analyzed areas had a similar temporal pattern but with a greater productivity in Tres Forcas, although it’s remarkable a higher seasonal variation in Alhucemas. Both sites registered clear increasing trends in productivity, but Alhucemas was the one with a higher positive trends surface and higher significant trends. There we almost couldn’t find any negative trend, which were predominant in Tres Forcas. Last but not least, anomalies analysis showed a greater percentage of anomalous pixels in Tres Forcas, but taking count that both parks were very stable.