State-and-transition models in waterlogged agricultural environments of central Argentina
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25260/EA.25.35.3.0.2526Keywords:
wetlands, ecohydrology, state changes, land use, reversibilityAbstract
1. In former agricultural areas of central Argentina, land-use changes have resulted in shallow water tables and excess surface water, favoring the emergence of neo-wetlands characterized by waterlogging and salinization.
2. A state-and-transition model (STM) was applied to LANDSAT and Sentinel-2 imagery (2000-2023) to assess the trajectories, frequency and reversibility of land cover changes in 293 sites within the El Morro watershed (San Luis).
3. Nine land cover types were identified: 6 persistent (forest, cropland, vegetated wetland, unvegetated wetland, vegetated watercourse, unvegetated watercourse) and 3 transitional (deforested or burned forest, incipient wetland, and sediment deposits).
4. Sixty-six percent of transitions occurred between 2003 and 2016, mostly toward saline-waterlogged areas, whether vegetated or not.
5. Reversibility was minimal: only 1.4% of croplands and 0.7% of forests returned to their original cover. Burning or mechanical clearing accelerated cropland-to-wetland conversions, with no evidence of subsequent recovery.
6. Implications. Early signs of degradation with low reversibility (unvegetated wetlands, water tables <1.5 m, NDVI <0.40) were identified, which can inform preventive management strategies. It is recommended to conserve incipient wetlands, promote salt-tolerant perennial crops, and selectively evaluate drainage interventions depending on hydrological context and potential for reversion.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Mailén Lallement, Yésica Diaz, Esteban Jobbágy, Victoria Marchesini
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