Work

Assessment of Landscape Changes caused by Highway Construction: Case Study of Ruta del Canal Pargua Highway in Chile

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: The constructed infrastructure that has made cities more livable to their human inhabitants not always has benefited the overall ecosystems, which has leading to some fragile land covers being the most affected (i.e., grasslands, wetlands, etc.). In this article, it is analyzed the relationship between the natural landscape and the highway “Ruta del Canal Pargua” in Puerto Montt, Chile. A comparison was performed/implemented based on a Land Use Land Cover Change (LULCC) analysis from a year before the construction of the highway (2012) to the most updated available image (2021). Three field spots were selected to observe the wetland’s landscape visual qualities, landscape natural features, and road management (2022). The results showed that anthropic interventions have been continuing to transform the natural features of wetland’s landscape, especially the native roadside vegetation, and noise pollution.This change was promoted by the lack of management of the highway inits surroundings, and, by the intrusive LULCC. This paper also discussesthe persistent lack of ecological management for highways in southernChile and sparks the conversation about the necessity to include anecological perspective in road infrastructure design in Chile that couldbe replicated in Latin America.

Source: Landscape Online

DOI: 10.3097/lo.2023.1113

Author: Carolina Ojeda Leal

Institution: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Language: English

Topic: Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation

Subfield: Ecology

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Life on land, Sustainable cities and communities, Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Climate action

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $431