Free Data Processing Applied to Detect Changes in Land Use Coverage at Biodiversity Hotspots of the Amazon

The main aim of the current research has been to quantify and map the pattern of changes in land use coverage (LULC), using free data. The study area has been the northern area of the Diversity and Life Strip, located in the Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, considered to be a biodiversity hotspot. The processes performed in order to apply LULC on the Diversity and Life Zone (DLZ) were 1) data collection and analysis, 2) remote sensing data processing, 3) thematic land cover and 4) transformation from raster to vector. The analysis period was of about 10 years (2009-2018), where Landsat 7-8 satellite images were used. The classified classes were forest, traditional productive system, herbaceous vegetation, infrastructure and water. It was determined that the forest decreased by 3.63%, while the herbaceous vegetation increased by 3.03%. Therefore, the preliminary data from this study provide a benchmark for decision makers and take action in order to minimize deforestation.