Background:

Maps of disturbed forests help to identify impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Methods using only spectral data to detect disturbance at the regional level have limitations, but expert knowledge and fragmentation analysis can improve estimation.

Questions:

What is the distribution of disturbed forests in a region of high biodiversity, and which vegetation types and regions are most affected?

Data description:

SPOT 2015, Sentinel-2 satellite imagery from 2019. Vegetation data were collected at 653 sites. In addition, herbarium, agricultural census, and National Forest Inventory data were used.

Study site and dates:

Chiapas State, during 2018-2022.

Methods:

We elaborated a hybrid map of vegetation types, emphasizing identifying secondary forests. Also, we carried out a fragmentation analysis and calculated the woody biomass per forest type.

Results:

40 % of the State still maintains tree cover, but only 18 % is undisturbed; most undisturbed forests are in three regions: Selva Lacandona, Sierra Madre, and Gulf Plain. Overall, the biomass of disturbed forests is significantly lower than that of their mature counterparts.

Conclusions:

In Chiapas, the distribution of forests with good conservation status is restricted; almost half of them are outside NPAs, so it is imperative to promote additional strategies for their conservation and management.

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