Characterization and conservation status of the riparian vegetation of the middle basin of the Río Cuarto (Córdoba, Argentina)

Abstract

Background and aims: The processes of change of land use have had a very profound impact on the ecological patterns and processes of landscapes in recent times, owing to that, this study aims to characterize the vegetation patches associated with the middle basin of the Río Cuarto and to determine its conservation status in order to delineate management strategies that allow planners to choose the best alternative for urban development.
M&M: Vegetation censuses were carried out in the different environments. The environmental units were digitized and an Integral Environmental Evaluation Index included in a Geographic Information System platform was applied to the define the conservation value.
Results: Seven vegetation units belonging to the biogeographic district of Espinal were delimited and 340 remnants of natural vegetation were digitized. According to the Integral Environmental Evaluation Index, more than 50% of the UA are in bad status of conservation, where the patches with regular and good status presented a high value of ecological functionality within the basin. By other hand, less than 1% of the environmental units are in very good status of conservation.
Conclusions: These results allowed us to generate management recommendations in order to promote its preservation and improvement of its environmental health. These recommendations could be included in the territorial planning of the cities associated to the studied basin.