Geomorphology, Land-Use, and Hemeroby of Foothills in Colombian Orinoquia: Classification and Correlation at a Regional Scale

Abstract

In the management of ecosystem services, it is signi cant to relate land use with the physical characteristics of the terrain, which allows establishing the conditioning factors of human activities and planning their distribution. These analyzes are based on thematic cartography, usually generated with visual classi cations of satellite images. Traditional mapping techniques involve limiting the timely availability of information by taking extended periods for interpretation and integration of multiple data sets. This article presents a methodology to overcome these di culties, implements big data, machine learning, and cloud computing to generate timely thematic cartography and spatial analysis to support land use planning. The study area was delimited according to altitudinal levels that de ne braided and anastomosed river systems. Acquisition, processing, and classi cation of input data for modeling were performed on the Google Earth Engine platform. The spatial correlation between hemeroby and geomorphology was calculated with the odds ratio and its respective con dence interval. Maps of 27 geomorphological units, 11 types of land use, and six hemeroby levels are presented at a scale of 1: 50,000. Confusion matrices of implemented classi cation models were also reported, allowed evaluating global, user's, and producer's accuracy. Correlations between relict of natural areas with the structural environment and urban infrastructure with alluvial fans stand out. The information generated by these procedures is essential for planning land use and prioritizing the maintenance of ecosystem services.

Hemeroby Mapping of the Belém Landscape in Eastern Amazon and Impact Study of Urbanization on the Local Climate

“…In South America, Gutiérrez [29] investigated longterm LULC changes by using hemeroby metrics in the Mucujún watershed of the Venezuelan Andes and documented not only forest recovery but also urban area growth, intensified land use and invasions by non-native species. Nino [30] used this technique to generate thematic cartography and spatial analysis to support land use planning in the…”

“…In South America, Gutiérrez [29] investigated long-term LULC changes by using hemeroby metrics in the Mucujún watershed of the Venezuelan Andes and documented not only forest recovery but also urban area growth, intensified land use and invasions by non-native species. Nino [30] used this technique to generate thematic cartography and spatial analysis to support land use planning in the Colombian Orinoquía at the foothills of the Andean Cordillera. Particularly for Brazil, there are examples of applications in different landscapes over South, Southeast and Northeast regions [11][12][13][14].…”

Landscape connectivity in extensive livestock farming: an adaptive approach to the land sharing and land sparing dilemma

“…The hemeroby index is a comprehensive estimator of human impact on natural systems, considering the relationship between current land use and vegetation that would exist in the absence of anthropogenic disturbances (Steinhardt et al, 1999;Peterseil et al, 2004;Niño et al, 2023). This indicator shows imbalances between conservation areas and land use planning, points out areas that require measures to improve the environmental conditions of the landscape and highlights the progress of environmental management (Walz and Stein, 2009).…”

“…In practical terms, applying adaptive management using hemeroby as an indicator, where livestock farmers can adapt their Distance to forest as Euclidean distance from deforested areas to nearest area covered by structurally preserved forest. -Herrera et al 10.3389/fsufs.2024.1345517 Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 11 frontiersin.org practices to minimize their impact on key areas for biodiversity, can be very useful for livestock management, as well as for the development of a biodiversity conservation strategy and a better use of resources (Niño et al, 2023). For example, they may avoid grazing in areas of low hemeroby during certain times of the year to protect breeding species (Figure 4).…”