Ecosystem loss assessment following hydroelectric dam flooding: The case of Yacyretá; Argentina
The Yacyretá dam is one of the most important hydroelectric projects in La Plata Basin.As a consequence of the filling of the reservoir to its final height of 83 meters; approximately 1;076 km2 of terrestrial and riparian ecosystems were flooded in Argentina and Paraguay. In order to evaluate the ec...
| Principais autores: | , , , |
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| Formato: | Texto completo |
| Idioma: | Inglés |
| Publicado em: |
Elsevier B.V.
2015
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| Assuntos: | |
| Acesso em linha: | https://ri.unsam.edu.ar/handle/123456789/1001 |
| Resumo: | The Yacyretá dam is one of the most important hydroelectric projects in La Plata Basin.As a consequence of the filling of the reservoir to its final height of 83 meters; approximately 1;076 km2 of terrestrial and riparian ecosystems were flooded in Argentina and Paraguay. In order to evaluate the ecosystems loss due to this impounding; we generated two maps of land use/land cover from Landsat satellite images: 1987 (prior to the dam) and 2011 (after the final height was reached). We applied a post classification method and tested the gain; loss; and net change of natural and anthropic ecosystems in the study area with a cross tabulation matrix. Water bodies were the land cover type that showed the greatest degree of change; increasing 14.8% between periods. This was in detriment of; primarily; wetlands by 7.5%; grasslands by 4.0%; and native forests by 2.8%. However; sandbanks presented the highest probability of transition to another land class and; thus; correspond to the most vulnerable land covering the study area. Also; we detected a differential ecosystem loss; both in type and magnitude; up and downstream of the dam. Our work is the first one to address ecosystem loss in the Yacyretá area and our results should help to improve management policies; such as the design of the current network of compensatory reserves. |
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