Land-use change in the Sierra Alta of Hidalgo in the period 1976-2011

In the last 50 years, land-use change in the Sierra Alta de Hidalgo region has intensified mainly due to agricultural activities that lead to the continual opening of spaces previously covered with natural vegetation, causing the degradation of natural resources. The study objective was to characterize the dynamics of land-use change in the Sierra Alta of Hidalgo, in the period 1976-2011, in order to contribute to rural development planning processes. INEGI vegetation and land-use charts, with a scale of 1: 250,000, were used for the years 1976, 1993 and 2011. Statistical analysis was carried out with the aid of the Land Change Modeler (LCM) module of the TenSet software. Later, 54 surveys were carried out in three localities of the mentioned region in order to know the factors that favor land-use change. Land-use changes are associated with economic, demographic, socio-cultural and institutional policy factors, and evidenced by the increase in agricultural activities: more than 19 thousand hectares of Cultivated Grassland and approximately 12 thousand hectares of Rainfed Agriculture, against the loss of 9 thousand hectares of forests and rainforests.