Analyzing the relationship between forest fragmentation and post-hurricane damage and recovery: the case of hurricane Dean in the Calakmul-sian Ka'an biological corridor, Yucatán, Mexico

Tropical forests are subject to disturbance regimes that occur across a range of temporal and spatial scales, and that are important drivers of land change. Understanding the effect of anthropogenic and natural disturbances, as well as their synergies, on forest change dynamics is essential for informing policy and management programs that seek to achieve sustainability and reduce human and ecological vulnerability. This is particularly true in the face of increasing pressures from growing populations, accelerated rates of deforestation and forest degradation, and global environmental change. The impact of hurricane Dean on the forests of the Yucatán peninsula, Mexico, in August 2007 provided a unique opportunity to address some relevant questions on this topic. The Yucatán forests play a critical ecological and social role in Mexico and Mesoamerica, and amount for the largest expanse of mature forest left in the region. However, they are in a continuous process of change due to a long history of anthropogenic and natural disturbances, including the periodic impact of hurricanes, which has raised concerns about their persistence and their ability to provide goods and ecosystem services in the future. Given these concerns, this dissertation aims to advance our understanding of ongoing changes to the spatial configuration of the tropical forests of the Calakmul – Sian Ka’an biological corridor located in the southern Yucatán peninsula, and the relationship between human-driven forest fragmentation and forest vulnerability and resilience to the impact of hurricane Dean at different spatial (from the regional to the forest stand) and temporal (immediate to 5 years) scales. Embedded within the Land Change Science research agenda, a combination of temporal analysis of remotely sensed data, available land cover products and socio economic data, as well as field sampling of forest stands, were used to address this broad research question.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Irene Zage