Land Use and Land Cover (LULC)

Introduction

This mapping project assessed the degree to which both existing and proposed terrestrial protected area networks protect/would protect landscape-level biodiversity, which are represented as vegetation types delineated from remotely-sensed imagery. A comprehensive, standardized, and thematically-appropriate map of Central American vegetation and landcover types was developed by classifying AVHRR imagery (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer imagery—1 km² resolution) using advanced digital image processing routines and expertise provided by a Central America Vegetation Working Group. The map identifies 17 remaining natural vegetation types. The classification accuracy of the map is estimated to exceed 80 percent. The data accurately reflect conservation status up to 1995.

Using a gap analysis approach, a map of existing and proposed protected areas was overlaid on the vegetation map to analyze the protection status of vegetation types.  Eleven of the 17 vegetation types were found to be under-represented (<10% of their total area contained in parks) and of these, eight vegetation types were found to have less than 5% protection. A similar analysis of the protection status of ecoregions revealed that eleven of the 16 ecoregions are inadequately protected. Eight ecoregions have been extensively converted (<40% original forest remaining) from pre-colonization states.

This work was supported by PROARCA/CAPAS (Proyecto Ambiental Regional de Centroamerica/Central America Protected Areas Systems), a conservation partnership of the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the International Resources Group, Ltd. (IRG), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Winrock International. This work was funded primarily by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Components of this work were additionally supported by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and NASA.

Methods

Introduction:

This report assesses the degree to which both existing and proposed terrestrial protected area networks protect/would protect landscape-level biodiversity, which we represent as vegetation types delineated from remotely-sensed imagery.  A comprehensive, standardized, and thematically appropriate map of Central American vegetation and landcover types was developed by classifying AVHRR imagery using advanced digital image processing routines and expertise provided by a Central America Vegetation Working Group.  The map identifies 17 remaining natural vegetation types.  The classification accuracy of the map is estimated to exceed 80%.

Using a gap analysis approach, a map of existing and proposed protected areas was overlaid on the vegetation map to analyze the protection status of vegetation types.  Eleven of the 17 vegetation types were found to be under-represented (<10% of their total area contained in parks) and of these, eight vegetation types were found to have less than 5% protection.  A similar analysis of the protection status of ecoregions revealed that eleven of the 16 ecoregions are inadequately protected.  Eight ecoregions have been extensively converted (<40% original forest remaining) from pre-colonization states.

Geospatial Data:

The dataset used in this gap analysis comprised the most spatially detailed dataset on protected areas, vegetation, and ecoregion data ever assembled for the region as a whole.  The following digital geospatial data were compiled for the gap analysis:

Country boundaries (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama) (1:1 Million, Digital Chart of the World, ESRI Inc. 1993)  

Vegetation and landcover map (1:2 Million, PROARCA/CAPAS, 1998)

Mesoamerican protected areas network systems (1:1 Million, WCS, 1996)

Digital Elevation Model (1 km grid, USGS EROS Data Center, 1996)

Ecoregions (1:15 Million, Dinerstein, et al., 1995)

Map Projection:

Projection - Lamert Azimuthal
Longitude of Center of Projection:  -100
Latitude of Center of Projection:  50

Vegetation and Landcover Classes (English Version; Spanish legend is provided with the grid file):

Tropical Needleleaf Evergreen Forest
Tropical Broadleaf Evergreen Forest
Tropical Broadleaf/Needleleaf Evergreen Forest
Tropical Broadleaf Deciduous Forest
Tropical Swamp Forest
Palm Forest
Mangroves
Tropical Needleleaf Evergreen Woodland
Tropical Broadleaf Evergreen Woodland
Tropical Broadleaf Deciduous Woodland
Tropical Broadleaf/Needleleaf Woodland
Tropical Broadleaf Evergreen Savanna
Tropical Needleleaf Evergreen Savanna
Tropical Broadleaf Evergreen Scrub/Shrub
Tropical Cactus/Thorn Shrub
Tropical Swamp Scrub/Shrub
Tropical Perennial Graminoid Grassland
Tropical Herbaceous Wetland
Barron Rock, Sand, and Soil
Marine
Inland Water
Forest-Woodland-Agriculture Complex
Urban/Vegetation Complex
Agriculture
Urban/Industrial

Protection Types (from WCS):

Parks and Reserves (IUCN I - III)
Parks without legal limits (ES)
Parks without legal boundaries (NI and HO)
Potential New Reserves
Proposed Connection Zones
Extractive Reserves Proposed for Upgrade                               
Marine Reseves
Proposed Marine Reserves
LAND

Ecoregions (from world Wildlife Fund (WWF)):

Belizean Pine Forests
Belizean Swamp Forests
Central American Atlantic Moist Forests
Central American Montane Forests
Central American Pacific Dry Forests
Central American Pine-Oak Forests
Central Panamanian Montane Forests
Chiapas Depression Dry Forests
Choco/Darien Moist Forests
Costa Rican Paramo
Costa Rican Seasonal Moist Forests
Eastern Panamanian Montane Forests
Isthmian-Pacific Moist Forests
Mangroves
Miskito Pine Forests
Motagua Valley Thornscrub
Panamanian Dry Forests
Peten Moist Forests
Sierra Madre Moist Forests
Talamancan Montane Forests
Yucatan Moist Forests
Water

Contact Information:

Conservation Science and Stewardship Department
Latin American and The Caribbean Division
The Nature Conservancy
1815 North Lynn Street
Arlington, Virginia 22209, USA