Diagnóstico multitemporal y generación de un plan de acción, adaptación y mitigación para las zonas de desertificación y degradación del Cerro Nitón, Parroquia Chiquicha Cantón Pelileo.

Abstract

The present investigation had as objective to carry out a multi temporal diagnosis and the generation of an action plan, adaptation and mitigation for de zones of desertification and degradation of the Nitón hill, town Chiquicha, Pelileo Canton. At the beginning a supervised classification was carried out of the satellite images Landsat 5, Landsat 7, and Landsat 8 of the years 1991, 2001, and 2015 respectively, by the application of the ArcGIS 10.1 software to identify the land use classes. In the second instance, the analysis of soil degradation out by using the universal formula of soil loss USLE/ RUSLE was carried in order to apply this formula. The erosivity factor of the precipitations (R), the factor of aerodabilidad of the Soil (K), the length and gradient factor of the slope (LS) were determined. The obtained results shows that the areas without susceptibly to erosion decreased by 6.13%; While areas with low susceptibility increased by 3.46% and areas with moderate susceptibility by 1.92%. It was possible to verify that potential losses of erosion were affected 9.22 ha. in the year 2001. The research paper concluded that the used areas in agricultural activities located in areas of greater precipitation and slopes are the most affected by erosion processes. Bad agricultural practices, the cutting down of the forests, and planting grass without technification resulted in a decrease in soil nutrients, losing their ability to recover naturally. To perform this type of studies it is advisable to work with orthographic photos since they present a better resolution at the time of their treatment.