The Antinaco-Los Colorados Valley: further degradation

The Antinaco-Los Colorados Valley is the most productive region in the province of La Rioja; the expansion of agricultural activities in combination with population growth are the imminent causes of the deterioration of natural ecosystems in the region; however, there is a lack of knowledge about the deterioration of vegetation and the desertification process in the Antinaco-Los Colorados Valley. The lack of knowledge about the degree of degradation, the main causes and the absence of environmental evaluations prevent the development of the management and administration of natural resources with perspectives for a sustainable development of the region. This paper evaluates the degradation of vegetation due to firewood extraction in the northern part of the Valley, using the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) analysis.