Ecosystem fragmentation analysis as a tool to develop conservation strategies in northeastern Mexico

摘要

The Northeastern part of Mexico has been subject to intense land-use changes that have resulted not only in the substitution of natural vegetation by agro-ecosystems, but in a major fragmentation of the natural landscapes. For the natural area known as Burgos Basin (States of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas), the extraction of natural gas by the national oil company (Pemex) in the region triggered the interest of developing conservation strategies that may prevent further degradation of the remaining ecosystems. One of the concerns of the conservation organizations is the preservation of "ecological corridors" to maintain the communication of fragments and sustain their functions. This work presents an analysis of the ecosystem fragmentation process for the period of 1976 to 2000. We analyze the selected key vegetation types for the region, to propose a set of "ecological corridors" that based upon its fragmentation properties may allow us to define a conservation model.