Observing Forest Change to Enhance Border Sustainability in Chihuahua, Mexico

Abstract

The US–Mexico border is a place of great social and economic contrasts. Environmental systems straddle the border without regard for social or economic differences, and degradation is rarely confined to a single side of the border. Of major concern to the border region is the quantity and quality of water resources in the Rio Grande and its tributaries. The forests of the Sierra Madre Occidental in Chihuahua State are the source of much of this water and are an ideal place to study the impact of distant border influences, and this article examines remote sensing applications of Chihuahua's forest resources. Efforts to map Mexico's land‐cover are reviewed, and specific examples relating to Chihuahua are provided. Forest fire analysis at the national level is discussed, and opportunities for applying remotely sensed data and analysis to Chihuahua are identified. These include (i) long‐term monitoring of Chihuahua's forests; (ii) the estimation of biophysical forest parameters; and (iii) assessment of pre‐fire, active fire, and post‐fire forest characteristics and burn severity. Remote sensing of Chihuahua's forests will facilitate studies of downstream water quantity and quality and point to management practices that will create a sustainable border environment.

Change of vegetation cover in the US–Mexico border region: illegal activities or climatic variability?

“…One of the main reasons for the lack of attention on the driving forces of vegetation cover change was the availability of precise spatial data measuring land covers. The rise of remotesensing data in the recent decades has provided the opportunities for researchers worldwide to investigate the change of vegetation cover at much finer resolutions and much larger scales (Townshend et al 1991, Currit 2009). The high-resolution remote-sensing data have seen widespread applications in many industries, especially in agricultural and environmental management.…”