Evaluación multitemporal de la cobertura vegetal del municipio de Aipe, Huila, Colombia, y sus reservas naturales de la sociedad civil durante los últimos 30 años

Contextualization: Anthropogenic activities are responsible for the transformation of ecosystems, visibly altering their ecological structure and functionality. In Colombia, one of the most impacted biomes by these transformations is the Tropical Dry Forest, which is restricted to limited areas of the country. The municipality of Aipe harbors remnants of this ecosystem, standing out for its ecological relevance and urgent need for conservation. Knowledge gap: Despite the acknowledged presence of Tropical Dry Forest in Aipe, there remains a gap in knowledge regarding the dynamics of its vegetation cover over the past decades, particularly in relation to the impacts of human activities and desertification processes. This limitation constrains the understanding of landscape transformations and hinders the development of effective conservation and management strategies. In this context, generating updated information to accurately assess vegetation cover changes is a priority for guiding local-scale environmental management decisions. Purpose: To assess the vegetation cover of the municipality of Aipe and its Civil Society Nature Reserves through a 30-year multitemporal analysis using Geographic Information Systems. Methodology: Supervised classification was applied using the Maximum Likelihood algorithm, complemented by analyses of the fragmentation index, connectivity, and transition matrices of forest cover. The analyses were performed in QGIS version 3.28 with the Semi-Automatic Classification Plugin (SCP) version 7.10.11. Results and conclusions: Between 1992 and 2022, Aipe experienced a decline in forest cover from 41.6% to 34.1% (−5,993 ha), while grasslands and agricultural areas progressively expanded, confirming agricultural development as the main driver of landscape transformation. The analysis revealed that forests were initially replaced by herbaceous vegetation (1992–2010) and subsequently by pastures (2010–2022), with statistically significant changes. The fragmentation index showed a progressive deterioration (R² = 0.9229), indicating a loss of connectivity and a trend toward patch insularization. In the Civil Society Nature Reserves (RNSC), vegetation cover exhibited greater initial stability; however, between 2010 and 2022, a marked increase in pastures was detected.