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Changes in vegetation cover and land use can cause the fragmentation and destruction of ecosystems, resulting in a negative impact on biological diversity. It is likely that this may be happening in recent decades in "El Ocote" Tropical Forest Biosphere Reserve, in Chiapas, Mexico. Therefore, the objective of this research project was to determine the vegetation and land use change rate at the southern zone of "El Ocote" and its adjacent area, from 1980 to 2022. A characterization of the types of vegetation and land use was carried out from Landsat images, then a supervised classification was carried out in Qgis, and finally the change rate formula described by the FAO was used. This information is important to update the ANP Management Program, and to allow the creation of different mechanisms that help the sustainable use of its natural resources, contributing to the conservation of its flora and fauna, and the improvement of the quality of life of the surrounding local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "El Zapotal" is a Natural Protected Area (NPA) that contains one of the last fragments of the Sub-evergreen Medium Rainforest of the Central Valley in Chiapas; it is home to a different species of native flora and fauna native. We conduct a spatio-temporal study of vegetation and land use change, analyzing Landsat satellite images from 1980, 2000 and 2020. Sites with evidence of timber extraction, areas susceptible to fires, and clandestine entries were recorded. According to the Mann-Whitney U analysis, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the land cover of any of the four vegetation and land use classes, inside and outside the NPA over the past 40 years. However, the Medium Sub-evergreen Forest and Acahual presented a negative rate of change, inside and outside "El Zapotal". In contrast the the Urban Land showed a positive rate of change in the vicinity of the NPA, an alarm signal about the process of isolation of the ANP with respect to other areas of protection of ecosystems, as well as areas covered by native vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]