Landscape analysis for rapid ecological assessment of relocation alternatives for a devastated city Análisis del paisaje para la evaluación ecológica rápida de alternativas de relocalización de una ciudad devastada

Abstract

After the eruption of the Chaitén Volcano (Chile) and the destruction of the neighboring Chaitén city, some alternative sites were evaluated for the relocation of administrative facilities and housing for the displaced. Three towns (Fandango, Santa Bárbara and Bahía Pumalín) were evaluated by means of a multi-criteria analysis, including the impact that a new urban development would have on local biodiversity. This impact was evaluated through a landscape analysis. The landscape attributes studied were (1) composition and representation of each ecosystem type, (2) connectivity, and (3) environmental value, based on a classification of the prevailing ecosystems and their respective stages of succession, defined as a function of ecosystem heterogeneity and maturity. Landscape metrics were calculated from LANDSAT 5 satellite imagery (November 17 th, 2008) with ArcView® 3.2 (ESRI) and Fragstats, including the surface co ver of each ecosystem type, the number of patches and the cohesion ind