Transformations of the forest cover and future scenarios in the Sierra Madre Oriental,physiographic region, San Luis Potosi, Mexico

摘要

The original forest cover at the Sierra Madre Oriental physiographic region has been transformed and deforested due to the establishment of agricultural and animal areas, the creation of social infrastructure projects and forests fires. Such changes have modified the hydrological cycle and local regimes of precipitation and temperature, and at a certain extent, all this will contribute to the global warming. The objective of this research is to find out the reasons for the transformation of the Sierra Madre Oriental forest and to establish the possible scenarios for the next 15 years. Based on the land cover transformation observed during the last 15 years, a pattern change has been established and through the geographic information systems DINAMICA and ARCGIS, we develop models that let us predict where changes will happen and the possible landscapes in this region for 2010, 2015 and 2020.