Repositorio
Institucional

Alaniz, Alberto J.

Smith-Ramirez, Cecilia

Rendon-Funes, Adriana

Hidalgo-Corrotea, Claudia

Carvajal, Mario A.

Vergara, Pablo M.

Fuentes, Norka

Multiscale spatial analysis of headwater vulnerability in South-Central Chile reveals a high threat due to deforestation and climate change

ELSEVIER

SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT

en

Headwaters represent an essential component of hydrological, ecological, and socioeconomical systems, by providing constant water streams to the complete basin. However, despite the high importance of headwaters, there is a lack of vulnerability assessments worldwide. Identifying headwaters and their vulnerability in a spatially explicit manner can enable restauration and conservation programs. In this study, we assess the vulnerability of headwaters in South -Central Chile (38.4 to 43.2 degrees S) considering multiple degradation factors related to climate change and land cover change. We analyzed 2292 headwaters, characterizing multiple factors at five spatial scales by using remote sensing data related to Land Use and Cover Change (LUCC), human disturbances, vegetation cover, climate change, potential water demand, and physiography. We then generated an index of vulnerability by integrating all the analyzed vari-ables, which allowed us to map the spatial distribution of headwater vulnerability. Finally, to estimate the main drivers of degradation, we performed a Principal Components Analysis with an Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering, that allowed us to group headwaters according to the analyzed factors. The largest proportion of most vulnerable headwa-ters are located in the north of our study area with 48.1 %, 62.1 %, and 28.1 % of headwaters classified as highly vul-nerable at 0, 10, and 30 m scale, respectively. The largest proportion of headwaters are affected by Climate Change (63.66 %) and LUCC (23.02 %) on average across all scales. However, we identified three clusters, in which the north-ern cluster is mainly affected by LUCC, while the Andean and Coastal clusters are mainly affected by climate change. Our results and methods present an informative picture of the current state of headwater vulnerability, identifying spa-tial patterns and drivers at multiple scales. We believe that the approach developed in this study could be useful for new studies in other zones of the world and can also promote Chilean headwater conservation.

artículo original

We thank Mario Leiva for auditing the location of streams. AJA and MAC thank ANID-PFCHA/Doctorado Nacional 2020-21201496 and 2020- 21201494, respectively. This project was funded by API3 (Universidad de Los Lagos) , AFB210006 and FB210006, both from ANID.

Agradecemos a Mario Leiva por auditar la ubicación de los arroyos. AJA y MAC agradecen a ANID-PFCHA/Doctorado Nacional 2020-21201496 y 2020-21201494, respectivamente. Este proyecto fue financiado por API3 (Universidad de Los Lagos), AFB210006 y FB210006, ambos de ANID.

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157930

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Ecological vulnerability index

Headwater streams

Headwater ponds

Restoration priorities

South American temperate forests

NATIVE FOREST LOSS

RIPARIAN VEGETATION

RIVER-BASIN

WATER

LANDSCAPE

DYNAMICS

BIODIVERSITY

DEGRADATION

ECOSYSTEMS

MANAGEMENT

Ciencias Ambientales

Índice de vulnerabilidad ecológica

Arroyos de cabecera

Estanques de cabecera

Prioridades de restauración

Bosques templados de América del Sur

PÉRDIDA DE BOSQUES NATIVOS

VEGETACIÓN RIBERA

CUENCA DE RÍO

AGUA

PAISAJE

DINÁMICA

BIODIVERSIDAD

DEGRADACIÓN

ECOSISTEMAS

GESTIÓN

Oceanografía, Hidrología y Recursos del Agua

Ciencias del Medio Ambiente

Climatología

Multiscale spatial analysis of headwater vulnerability in South-Central Chile reveals a high threat due to deforestation and climate change

artículo original

version publicada

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metadata

metadata

ANID 21201496

ANID 21201494

ANID AFB210006

ANID FB210006

WOS:000880615600016