Landscape modification induced by forest plantations in a section of the Maulino coastal forest, Chile

Abstract

In this work were quantified and assessed the recent changes in the landscape composition and configuration of the Maulino Coastal Forest, located in central Chile, strongly affected by the forest plantations expansion. To achieve that, a set of landscape metrics were applied on its main vegetation land covers; derived from the official vegetation and land use cadasters of 2009 and 2016. Within the relatively short study period addressed, it was possible to confirm important changes in the landscape of the study area, mainly driven by an increase in the area covered by forest in the form of relatively small, compact, and irregularly shaped patches, which influenced the constriction, disconnection, and distancing of those patches of native vegetation. These results widely agree with those referred by previous studies, thus confirming the permanence of the fragmenting process that have affected this type of forest and consequently, the urgency of implementing actions aimed to its management and conservation.