IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v13y2024i5p610-d1387227.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Consequences of Land Use Changes on Native Forest and Agricultural Areas in Central-Southern Chile during the Last Fifty Years

Author

Listed:
  • Alejandro del Pozo

    (Centro de Mejoramiento Genético y Fenómica Vegetal, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad de Talca, Talca 3460000, Chile)

  • Giordano Catenacci-Aguilera

    (Centro de Mejoramiento Genético y Fenómica Vegetal, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad de Talca, Talca 3460000, Chile
    Centro de Innovación y Desarrollo para Ovinos del Secano—Ovisnova, Facultad de Recursos Naturales y Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad Santo Tomás, Talca 346000, Chile)

  • Belén Acosta-Gallo

    (Departamento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain)

Abstract

Chile’s central-south region has experienced significant land use changes in the past fifty years, affecting native forests, agriculture, and urbanization. This article examines these changes and assesses their impact on native forest cover and agricultural land. Agricultural data for Chile (1980–2020) were obtained from public Chilean institutions (INE and ODEPA). Data on land use changes in central and south Chile (1975–2018), analysed from satellite images, were obtained from indexed papers. Urban area expansion in Chile between 1993 and 2020 was examined using publicly available data from MINVIU, Chile. Additionally, photovoltaic park data was sourced from SEA, Chile. Field crop coverage, primarily in central and southern Chile, decreased from 1,080,000 ha in 1980 to 667,000 ha in 2020, with notable decreases observed in cereal and legume crops. Conversely, the coverage of export-oriented orchards and vineyards increased from 194,947 ha to 492,587 ha. Forest plantations expanded significantly, ranging from 18% per decade in northern central Chile to 246% in the Maule and Biobío regions. This was accompanied by a 12.7–27.0% reduction per 10 years in native forest. Urban areas have experienced significant growth of 91% in the last 27 years, concentrated in the Mediterranean climate region. Solar photovoltaic parks have begun to increasingly replace thorn scrub (Espinal) and agricultural land, mirroring transformations seen in other Mediterranean nations like Spain and Portugal.

Suggested Citation

  • Alejandro del Pozo & Giordano Catenacci-Aguilera & Belén Acosta-Gallo, 2024. "Consequences of Land Use Changes on Native Forest and Agricultural Areas in Central-Southern Chile during the Last Fifty Years," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-15, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:5:p:610-:d:1387227
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/5/610/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/5/610/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Manuel González de Molina & David Soto Fernández & Juan Infante-Amate & Eduardo Aguilera & Jaime Vila Traver & Gloria I. Guzmán, 2017. "Decoupling Food from Land: The Evolution of Spanish Agriculture from 1960 to 2010," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-18, December.
    2. Xiao-Peng Song & Matthew C. Hansen & Stephen V. Stehman & Peter V. Potapov & Alexandra Tyukavina & Eric F. Vermote & John R. Townshend, 2018. "Author Correction: Global land change from 1982 to 2016," Nature, Nature, vol. 563(7732), pages 26-26, November.
    3. Aidana Chalgynbayeva & Zoltán Gabnai & Péter Lengyel & Albiona Pestisha & Attila Bai, 2023. "Worldwide Research Trends in Agrivoltaic Systems—A Bibliometric Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-25, January.
    4. Xiao-Peng Song & Matthew C. Hansen & Stephen V. Stehman & Peter V. Potapov & Alexandra Tyukavina & Eric F. Vermote & John R. Townshend, 2018. "Global land change from 1982 to 2016," Nature, Nature, vol. 560(7720), pages 639-643, August.
    5. Van Butsic & Maggi Kelly & Max A. Moritz, 2015. "Land Use and Wildfire: A Review of Local Interactions and Teleconnections," Land, MDPI, vol. 4(1), pages 1-17, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Srijana Shrestha & Khem Narayan Poudyal & Nawraj Bhattarai & Mohan B. Dangi & John J. Boland, 2022. "An Assessment of the Impact of Land Use and Land Cover Change on the Degradation of Ecosystem Service Values in Kathmandu Valley Using Remote Sensing and GIS," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-18, November.
    2. Weijia Chen & Yongquan Lu & Guilin Liu, 2022. "Balancing cropland gain and desert vegetation loss: The key to rural revitalization in Xinjiang, China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 1122-1145, September.
    3. Baoni Li & Lihua Xiong & Quan Zhang & Shilei Chen & Han Yang & Shuhui Guo, 2022. "Effects of land use/cover change on atmospheric humidity in three urban agglomerations in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 113(1), pages 577-613, August.
    4. Wei Fan & Xiankun Yang & Shirong Cai & Haidong Ou & Tao Zhou & Dakang Wang, 2024. "Land-Use/Cover Change and Driving Forces in the Pan-Pearl River Basin during the Period 1985–2020," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-26, June.
    5. Jing Duan & Pu Shi & Yuanyuan Yang & Dongyan Wang, 2024. "Spatiotemporal Change Analysis and Multi-Scenario Modeling of Ecosystem Service Values: A Case Study of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-21, October.
    6. Tatiana Montenegro-Romero & Cristián Vergara-Fernández & Fabian Argandoña-Castro & Fernando Peña-Cortés, 2022. "Agriculture and Temperate Fruit Crop Dynamics in South-Central Chile: Challenges for Fruit Crop Production in La Araucanía Region, Chile," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-12, May.
    7. Michel Opelele Omeno & Ying Yu & Wenyi Fan & Tolerant Lubalega & Chen Chen & Claude Kachaka Sudi Kaiko, 2021. "Analysis of the Impact of Land-Use/Land-Cover Change on Land-Surface Temperature in the Villages within the Luki Biosphere Reserve," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-23, October.
    8. Min Wang & Kongtao Qin & Yanhong Jia & Xiaohan Yuan & Shuqi Yang, 2022. "Land Use Transition and Eco-Environmental Effects in Karst Mountain Area Based on Production-Living-Ecological Space: A Case Study of Longlin Multinational Autonomous County, Southwest China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-23, June.
    9. Xiaotong Wang & Jiazheng Han & Jian Lin, 2022. "Response of Land Use and Net Primary Productivity to Coal Mining: A Case Study of Huainan City and Its Mining Areas," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-16, June.
    10. Chen Ma & Runze Nie & Guoming Du, 2023. "Responses of Soil Collembolans to Land Degradation in a Black Soil Region in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-13, March.
    11. Chasia, Stanley & Olang, Luke O. & Sitoki, Lewis, 2023. "Modelling of land-use/cover change trajectories in a transboundary catchment of the Sio-Malaba-Malakisi Region in East Africa using the CLUE-s model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 476(C).
    12. Nguyen Van Hiep & Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao & Luong Van Viet & Huynh Cong Luc & Le Huy Ba, 2023. "Affecting of Nature and Human Activities on the Trend of Vegetation Health Indices in Dak Nong Province, Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-21, March.
    13. Zhihua Liu & John S. Kimball & Ashley P. Ballantyne & Nicholas C. Parazoo & Wen J. Wang & Ana Bastos & Nima Madani & Susan M. Natali & Jennifer D. Watts & Brendan M. Rogers & Philippe Ciais & Kailiang, 2022. "Respiratory loss during late-growing season determines the net carbon dioxide sink in northern permafrost regions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, December.
    14. Xiaoyu Niu & Yunfeng Hu & Zhongying Lei & Huimin Yan & Junzhi Ye & Hao Wang, 2022. "Temporal and Spatial Evolution Characteristics and Its Driving Mechanism of Land Use/Cover in Vietnam from 2000 to 2020," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-19, June.
    15. Zhangxuan Qin & Xiaolin Liu & Xiaoyan Lu & Mengfei Li & Fei Li, 2022. "Grain Production Space Reconstruction and Its Influencing Factors in the Loess Plateau," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-18, May.
    16. Yuji Hara & Chizuko Hirai & Yuki Sampei, 2022. "Mapping Uncounted Anthropogenic Fill Flows: Environmental Impact and Mitigation," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-19, November.
    17. Liwei Xing & Liang Chi & Shuqing Han & Jianzhai Wu & Jing Zhang & Cuicui Jiao & Xiangyang Zhou, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Wetland in Dongting Lake Based on Multi-Source Satellite Observation Data during Last Two Decades," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-17, October.
    18. Qing Wang & Yuhang Xiao, 2022. "Has Urban Construction Land Achieved Low-Carbon Sustainable Development? A Case Study of North China Plain, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-29, August.
    19. Wang, Liye & Zhang, Siyu & Xiong, Qiangqiang & Liu, Yu & Liu, Yanfang & Liu, Yaolin, 2022. "Spatiotemporal dynamics of cropland expansion and its driving factors in the Yangtze River Economic Belt: A nuanced analysis at the county scale," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    20. Huang, Xinxin & Wang, Haijun & Xiao, Fentao, 2022. "Simulating urban growth affected by national and regional land use policies: Case study from Wuhan, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:5:p:610-:d:1387227. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.