The Extent of Infrastructure Causing Fragmentation in the Hydrocarbon Basin in the Arid and Semi-Arid Zones of Patagonia (Argentina)

Fragmentation is a disruption in the connectivity of landscapes. The aims of this paper are (i) to quantitatively assess the fragmentation rates in three landscape units located in a hydrocarbon basin, and (ii) to model their behavior between 2001 and 2013 using landscape metrics at different scales of resolution. The following metrics were selected using principal component analysis (PCA): The Clumpiness Index (CLUMPY), patch density (PD), perimeter-area fractal dimension (PAFRAC) and effective mesh size (MESH). Results from our investigations pointed out that hydrocarbon activity increased the fragmentation at the sites. In particular, the CLUMPY index increased in all three landscape units, the average of PD decreased from 60 to 14 patches per 100 hectares, whereas the mean of MESH was quite constant, however, due to oil production, it decreased mainly in the coastal valleys. Finally, the PAFRAC also decreased at sites with oil production, being more evident in the plateau and coastal canyons. As a whole, outputs from our analyses clearly pointed out that the monitoring of landscape fragmentation trends in arid and semi-arid zones can be successfully achieved using metrics derived from satellite spectral information.