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Author: Wolfgang Grunberg The University of Arizona Phone: (520) 621 3045 The tropical forest of Guatemala's 21,130-square-kilometer Maya Biosphere Reserve and buffer zone is being impacted by extended deforestation due to an increase of the local population and the establishment of over 200 new settlements over the last 20 years. Existing GIS and remote sensing data was used to determine how much of the observed deforestation could be explained by three factors: roads, human settlements, and soil quality. Each factor was modeled and tested separately using spatial and statistical analysis methods, and then all were combined to create a final deforestation risk model. The model enables policy makers, as well as managers, to create scenarios that assess the impact of their actions on the forest on a regional scale. |
