Spatial patterns of the Chaco vegetation of central Argentina: Integration of remote sensing and phytosociology

• Published in: Applied vegetation science Vol. 5; no. 2; pp. 213 - 226
• Main Authors: Zak, Marcelo R, Cabido, Marcelo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lanna Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2002; Opulus Press
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Artificial satellites; Biological and medical sciences; cultural landscape; forests; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; image analysis; Image classification; Land cover; Land-cover map; Landsat; Landsat TM; Lowlands; multivariate analysis; phytosociology; Plant communities; remote sensing; s; Shrublands; Supervised classification; Synecology; Terrestrial ecosystems; Vegetation; Vegetation classification; Woodland grasslands; Woodlands; El Gran Chaco; Argentina; South America; America; Community structure; Vegetation map; Space remote sensing; Land-cover map; Plant cover; Landsat TM; Plant sociology; Landsat satellite; Supervised classification; Vegetation classification
• ISSN: 1402-2001; 1654-109X
• DOI: 10.1658/1402-2001(2002)005[0213:SPOTCV]2.0.CO;2

In this study we report the first application of Landsat TM imagery to Chaco vegetation studies at a regional scale in Argentina. We produced a map showing 13 clearly differentiated land-cover types, and described the composition and structure of the plant communities, in an area of almost 40 000 km2 in central Argentina. The land-cover map obtained shows that the Chaco vegetation in central Argentina is highly disturbed. In the lowland part of the area the dominant land-cover types are largely cultural landscapes and substitute shrublands, which have displaced the original Chaco forests, leaving only small isolated remnants generally confined to sites with some kind of constrain for agriculture. The use of TM images and the multivariate analysis of phytosociological data showed a qualified, high accuracy mapping capability for land-cover types in the Chaco region (ca. 85% overall accuracy). Our results highlight the utility of TM and field data in a subtropical to warm-temperate region, which is promising where other ancillary data are not available and a rapid acquisition of reliable vegetation data is required, so constituting a starting point for an imperative and more extensive classification and mapping of the endangered Chaco region. Nomenclature: Zuloaga et al. (1994); Zuloaga & Morrone (1996, 1999). Abbreviations: AVHRR = Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer; MSS = Multi Spectral Scanner; TM = Thematic Mapper.