Land-use / Land-cover Change in Yucatán State, Mexico: An examination of political, socioeconomic, and biophysical drivers in Peto and Tzucacab

Abstract

This paper presents results from an analysis of contrasting land-cover patterns of deforestation in the neighboring municipalities of Peto and Tzucacab, Yucatán State, México using Landsat satellite imagery and socio-demographic archival information for 1988, 1994, and 2001. The variables that most likely explained land-cover differences between these municipalities were not internal variables as had been initially thought, such as ethnic composition and population growth, but rather, other social and biophysical drivers. Based on these findings and supporting documentation, these drivers include specific government, land-intensification and economic development initiatives and biophysical conditions related to soil fertility.