Resumo

MARQUEZ-LINARES, Marco Antonio; TREVINO GARZA, Eduardo J.  e  JURADO, Enrique. Remplacement of forested areas by chaparral and herbaceous communities during 1970-2000 at a microbasin in Durango, Mexico. Invest. Geog [online]. 2005, n.58, pp.54-65. ISSN 2448-7279.

A comparative study from 1970 to 2000 was made on vegetation cover present in the micro watershed "El Carpintero", near Durango City, in Durango State, Mexico. Areas with predominant chaparral shrubs and herbaceous species expanded from 9 571 ha to 11 754 ha and from 2 188 ha to 6 774 ha, respectively, replacing forested areas, which were reduced from 12 952 ha to 6 193 ha. Annual deforestation rate was -2.43%. Main forces that caused this change were: resource management based in extensive livestock, non-irrigated agriculture , wood extraction as main energy source and forest fires.

Palavras-chave : Deforestation; semi-dry forest; chaparral; Sierra Madre Occidental.