Hugo Romero Aravena

Efectos del crecimiento urbano del Área Metropolitana de Concepción sobre los humedales de Rocuant-Andalién, Los Batros y Lenga

The Metropolitan Area of the city of Concepcion (Chile) has grown systematically substituting rural, natural and semi natural covers ‐among them wetlands- by urban land uses. Through the analysis and digitally processing satellite images, some environmental selected characteristics were evaluated. The relevance of these characteristics was weighted following a Multicriteria Evaluation, classifying four different kinds of landscape quality. The first consequence of the urbanization process has been a 40% reduction in the size of the wetlands and the fragmentation of their higher quality landscapes, located in and around them. Two steps could be distinguished in the disappearance of the wetlands: firstly, a substitution of their prime landscapes by vegetation covers, and secondly, the properly installation of urban uses.

Variabilidad y cambios climáticos observados y esperados en el Altiplano del norte de Chile

This study analyses temperature, rainfall irregularity and droughts in the Altiplano of Northern Chile at different temporal and spatial scales using data from meteorological stations and high spatial resolution climatic coverage, in respect to current and future scenarios included in the Fifth IPCC report. The aim of this work is to analyze and evaluate climate variability and climate change affecting this region. Our work confi rms an increase in temperature, and offers regional scale precision as to the predicted reduction in rainfall, as well as its predicted increase in variability. We identifi ed territories with distinct responses to climate change in the Altiplano, considering spatial and temporal variability in temperature, rainfall and extreme events (storms and droughts). Our results indicate a high coeffi cient of variation in annual rainfall and an opposite response when the concentration index for daily precipitation is considered.