Fragmentation and deforestation are one of the greatest threats to forests, and these processes are of even more concern in the tropics, where the seasonal dry forest is possibly one of the most threatened ecosystems with the least remaining surface area. The deforestation and fragmentation patterns that had occurred in Ecuadorian seasonal dry forests between 1990 and 2018 were verified, while geographic information systems and land cover shapes provided by the Ecuadorian Ministry of the Environment were employed to classify and evaluate three types of seasonal dry forests: deciduous, semi-deciduous, and transition. The study area was tessellated into 10 km2 hexagons, in which six fragmentation parameters were measured: number of patches, mean patch size, median patch size, total edge, edge density and reticular fragmentation index (RFI). The RFI was also measured both outside and inside protected natural areas (unprotected, national protected areas and protected forest). Moreover, the areas with the best and worst conservation status, connectivity and risk of disappearance values were identified by means of a Getis-Ord Gi* statistical analysis. The deforestation of seasonal dry forests affected 27.04% of the original surface area still remaining in 1990, with an annual deforestation rate of − 1.12% between 1990 and 2018. The RFI has increased by 11.61% as a result of the fact that small fragments of forest have tended to disappear, while the large fragments have been fragmented into smaller ones. The semi-deciduous forest had the highest levels of fragmentation in 2018. The three categories of protection had significantly different levels of fragmentation, with lower RFI values in national protected areas and greater values in protected forests. The seasonal dry forest is fragmenting, deforesting and disappearing in some areas. An increased protection and conservation of the Ecuadorian seasonal dry forest is, therefore, necessary owing to the fact that not all protection measures have been effective.

中文翻译：

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厄瓜多尔季节性干燥热带森林的森林砍伐和破碎化趋势：对保护的影响

森林破碎化和森林砍伐是森林面临的最大威胁之一，这些过程在热带地区更受关注，那里的季节性干旱森林可能是受威胁最严重的生态系统之一，剩余表面积最少。对厄瓜多尔 1990 年至 2018 年间发生的季节性干旱森林的森林砍伐和破碎化模式进行了验证，同时利用厄瓜多尔环境部提供的地理信息系统和土地覆盖形状对三种类型的季节性干旱森林进行了分类和评估： 、半落叶和过渡。研究区域被细分为 10 平方公里的六边形，其中测量了六个破碎参数：斑块数量、平均斑块大小、中位数斑块大小、总边缘、边缘密度和网状碎片指数 (RFI)。RFI 也在受保护的自然区域（未受保护的、国家保护区和受保护的森林）内外进行了测量。此外，通过 Getis-Ord Gi* 统计分析确定了具有最佳和最差保护状态、连通性和消失风险值的区域。季节性干旱森林的砍伐影响了 1990 年仍保留的原始表面积的 27.04%，1990 年至 2018 年间每年的森林砍伐率为 − 1.12%。 RFI 增加了 11.61%森林趋于消失，而大的碎片已被分割成更小的碎片。2018年半落叶林破碎化程度最高，三类保护的破碎化程度明显不同，国家保护区的 RFI 值较低，而受保护森林的 RFI 值较高。在某些地区，季节性干旱森林正在破碎、砍伐和消失。因此，由于并非所有保护措施都有效，因此有必要加强对厄瓜多尔季节性干旱森林的保护和养护。