Multiscale spatial analysis of headwater vulnerability in South-Central Chile reveals a high threat due to deforestation and climate change

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dc.contributor.authorAlaniz, Alberto J.
dc.contributor.authorSmith-Ramirez, Cecilia
dc.contributor.authorRendon-Funes, Adriana
dc.contributor.authorHidalgo-Corrotea, Claudia
dc.contributor.authorCarvajal, Mario A.
dc.contributor.authorVergara, Pablo M.
dc.contributor.authorFuentes, Norka
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-20T21:01:26Z
dc.date.available2025-01-20T21:01:26Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.description.abstractHeadwaters represent an essential component of hydrological, ecological, and socioeconomical systems, by providing constant water streams to the complete basin. However, despite the high importance of headwaters, there is a lack of vulnerability assessments worldwide. Identifying headwaters and their vulnerability in a spatially explicit manner can enable restauration and conservation programs. In this study, we assess the vulnerability of headwaters in South -Central Chile (38.4 to 43.2 degrees S) considering multiple degradation factors related to climate change and land cover change. We analyzed 2292 headwaters, characterizing multiple factors at five spatial scales by using remote sensing data related to Land Use and Cover Change (LUCC), human disturbances, vegetation cover, climate change, potential water demand, and physiography. We then generated an index of vulnerability by integrating all the analyzed vari-ables, which allowed us to map the spatial distribution of headwater vulnerability. Finally, to estimate the main drivers of degradation, we performed a Principal Components Analysis with an Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering, that allowed us to group headwaters according to the analyzed factors. The largest proportion of most vulnerable headwa-ters are located in the north of our study area with 48.1 %, 62.1 %, and 28.1 % of headwaters classified as highly vul-nerable at 0, 10, and 30 m scale, respectively. The largest proportion of headwaters are affected by Climate Change (63.66 %) and LUCC (23.02 %) on average across all scales. However, we identified three clusters, in which the north-ern cluster is mainly affected by LUCC, while the Andean and Coastal clusters are mainly affected by climate change. Our results and methods present an informative picture of the current state of headwater vulnerability, identifying spa-tial patterns and drivers at multiple scales. We believe that the approach developed in this study could be useful for new studies in other zones of the world and can also promote Chilean headwater conservation.
dc.fuente.origenWOS
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157930
dc.identifier.eissn1879-1026
dc.identifier.issn0048-9697
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157930
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/92884
dc.identifier.wosidWOS:000880615600016
dc.language.isoen
dc.revistaScience of the total environment
dc.rightsacceso restringido
dc.subjectEcological vulnerability index
dc.subjectHeadwater streams
dc.subjectHeadwater ponds
dc.subjectRestoration priorities
dc.subjectSouth American temperate forests
dc.subject.ods14 Life Below Water
dc.subject.ods15 Life on Land
dc.subject.ods06 Clean Water and Sanitation
dc.subject.odspa14 Vida submarina
dc.subject.odspa15 Vida de ecosistemas terrestres
dc.subject.odspa06 Agua limpia y saneamiento
dc.titleMultiscale spatial analysis of headwater vulnerability in South-Central Chile reveals a high threat due to deforestation and climate change
dc.typeartículo
dc.volumen849
sipa.indexWOS
sipa.trazabilidadWOS;2025-01-12
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