Abstract

GARCIA RUBIO, Gabriela; SCHMOOK, Birgit  and  ESPEJEL CARVAJAL, Ileana. Land use dynamics in three commons near to Chetumal City, Quintana Roo. Invest. Geog [online]. 2005, n.58, pp.122-139. ISSN 2448-7279.

The change in the land usage has caused the degradation and transformation of ecosystems all over the world. Therefore it is important to know the causes that provoke the changes and their future direction. The objective of this article is to identify the magnitude and direction of the changes in three commons (ejidos) of the north of Chetumal and to analyze the causes and tendencies. For this reason the corresponding parts of Landsat ETM images, from 1990 and 2000, have been classified; 81 common members have been interviewed and archives of the National Agrarian Institute have been undertaken. Results reveal the importance of the proximity with the city of Chetumal, providing employment sources, markets for agricultural products and thus facilitating the capital flow. In addition, the proximity to the state capital enables the access to governmental subsidies, but at the same time, it allows the establishment of a "recreational cattle ranch" and status of people living in Chetumal. As a result of the National Deforestation Programs an important amount of secondary vegetation, of over five years, was found. These deforested areas in the 80's haven't been cultivated recently, which caused a 0.6% annual jungle recovery surpassing thus the transformation of it into land and cattle activities.

Keywords : Land use change; tropical zones; coastal management.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )