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Abstract: This paper explores environmental hazards, more specifically desertification processes, in an area of west central Argentina, addressing the combined influence of the physical framework and the long lasting human settlement and use of natural resources. It is based upon the analysis of remotely sensed using vegetation indices, image differentiation, change detection, and pattern metrics. The results indicate a net decreased in the amount of vegetation between 1973 and 2001, and increasing fragmentation of vegetation classes. This is interpreted as a sign of the presence of land degradation processes likely linked to human activities in the areas of irrigated farming, grazing, firewood gathering and population settlement. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]