Multitemporal Evaluation of the Recent Land Use Change in Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos, Ecuador

We have been able to conduct a multitemporal analysis of land use change, in Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos, for the period from 2016 to 2019. This has allowed to detect changes, deducing the evolution of the natural environment or the repercussions of human action over the environment. The tools used have been with satellite images, in order to determine the state of fragmentation of the landscape. The changes in land use were derived from the cross tabulation of Landsat 8 images, with a spatial resolution of 30 m taken in October 2016, March 2019, using the PCI, IDRISI and ArcGIS programs. The defined categories were clouds, agricultural/forest mosaic, growing vegetation, infrastructure and soil. The main results demonstrated that changes in land use are determined by anthropic degradation, mainly in the conversion of native vegetation to agricultural spaces and the expansion of livestock. Demographic growth and monocultures are putting pressure on the forest, transforming areas of forest vocation into agricultural crops. The changes in coverage have meant a fragmented landscape with different degrees of disturbance, which lead to a decrease in the surface of natural habitats, reduction of the size of the fragments and their isolation.