EU-Funded LIFE Projects Influence in Land Use/Land Cover Changes in Insular Ecosystems: The Case-Study of São Miguel Island (Azores)

Abstract

Small oceanic islands, like São Miguel Island (Azores), show high vulnerability to climate change impacts, biological invasions, and land-use/land-cover changes that threaten their biodiversity and affect their ecosystem functions and services. Organized and long-term nature conservation actions and projects such as those funded by the EU LIFE Programme have been fundamental to mitigating biodiversity loss in the eastern part of São Miguel Island since 2003. The use of remote sensing-based approaches may constitute a cost-effective way to support the management, monitoring, and control of these LIFE projects. In this work, a land-use/land-cover change detection approach focusing on the 2003-2022 LIFE Projects intervention areas was applied by using the RAO's Q diversity index, which holds significant potential for monitoring the proliferation of invasive plant species and alterations in land use patterns. Using the ASTER, Landsat 8, and Sentinel-2 images from the Google Earth Engine on Google Colab and Python as the programming language, the average distribution of RAO's Q diversity index values in the intervention areas was analyzed. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index was calculated for the different years within the LIFE projects. The Classic Rao was calculated, giving the ability of this methodology to identify and evaluate diversity, making it possible to determine areas in which changes occurred in the project areas and the period in which these areas underwent interventions. By evaluating the effectiveness of conservation initiatives on small oceanic islands and archipelagos, we can gain insights into the ecological responses and long-term sustainability of these projects. This knowledge can inform future conservation strategies, contribute to the broader field of island conservation, and enhance our understanding of the unique dynamics and challenges associated with protecting biodiversity in insular environments. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

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EGU24-2010, updated on 13 Mar 2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-2010
EGU General Assembly 2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
EU-Funded LIFE Projects Influence in Land Use/Land Cover Changes
in Insular Ecosystems: The Case-Study of São Miguel Island (Azores)
Rafaela Tiengo1,2, Silvia Merino-De-Miguel3, Alicia Palacios-Orueta3, Jéssica Uchôa2, and Artur Gil4
1Departamento de Ingeniería Agroforestal, ETSIAAB, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
2cE3c – Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change
and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of the Azores, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
3Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería de Montes, Forestal y del Medio Natural, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040
Madrid, Spain
4Research Institute for Volcanology and Risk Assessment (IVAR), University of the Azores. 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Small oceanic islands, like São Miguel Island (Azores), show high vulnerability to climate change
impacts, biological invasions, and land-use/land-cover changes that threaten their biodiversity and
affect their ecosystem functions and services. Organized and long-term nature conservation
actions and projects such as those funded by the EU LIFE Programme have been fundamental to
mitigating biodiversity loss in the eastern part of São Miguel Island since 2003. The use of remote
sensing-based approaches may constitute a cost-effective way to support the management,
monitoring, and control of these LIFE projects. In this work, a land-use/land-cover change
detection approach focusing on the 2003-2022 LIFE Projects intervention areas was applied by
using the RAO’s Q diversity index, which holds significant potential for monitoring the proliferation
of invasive plant species and alterations in land use patterns. Using the ASTER, Landsat 8, and
Sentinel-2 images from the Google Earth Engine on Google Colab and Python as the programming
language, the average distribution of RAO’s Q diversity index values in the intervention areas was
analyzed. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index was calculated for the different years within
the LIFE projects. The Classic Rao was calculated, giving the ability of this methodology to identify
and evaluate diversity, making it possible to determine areas in which changes occurred in the
project areas and the period in which these areas underwent interventions. By evaluating the
effectiveness of conservation initiatives on small oceanic islands and archipelagos, we can gain
insights into the ecological responses and long-term sustainability of these projects. This
knowledge can inform future conservation strategies, contribute to the broader field of island
conservation, and enhance our understanding of the unique dynamics and challenges associated
with protecting biodiversity in insular environments.
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)