Temporal trend of sclerophyllous forest deterioration in the Metropolitan Region of Chile: a spectral index-based approach
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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0303-8082
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The sclerophyllous forest of Chile’s Metropolitan Region experienced intense anthropogenic and climatic pressure in recent decades. This study analyzed its deterioration trends between 1985 and 2024, identifying their spatiotemporal patterns through the complementary interpretation of spectral-index trend maps. We adapted normalized difference formulations of three spectral indices from multitemporal Landsat imagery acquired at five-year intervals. Thereafter, we standardized pixel-level temporal slopes by forest subtype to classify change magnitude relative to vegetation cover and topography. The modified NDDI (normalized difference drought index) was sensitive to vegetation water stress, reaching its highest values in 2020 during the peak of the central Chile megadrought and declining in 2024 following increased precipitation. The strongest deterioration occurred in the southwestern study area, mainly affecting denser, more accessible stands at lower elevations and gentler slopes.
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Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial 4.0.
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