Evaluación de la dinámica de cobertura y uso del suelo mediante sensores remotos en el bloque petrolero 43-ITT, Amazonía ecuatoriana

Abstract

CONDITION FOR PUBLICATION OF PROJECT. Oil exploitation in the Amazon poses significant risks to fragile ecosystems, particularly where activities overlap with protected areas. In Ecuador, extraction within Yasuní National Park, especially in Block 43 ITT, has raised concerns about forest cover and landscape change during recent closure processes. This study assesses land use and land cover changes in the block from 2019 to 2025 to evaluate the effects of oil activity and its early closure. Multitemporal Sentinel-2 imagery was analyzed in Google Earth Engine using Random Forest classification and spectral indices to map six land use and land cover classes. Transition matrices quantified persistence, gains and losses over time. Results indicate that forest cover remained dominant, while infrastructure and other anthropogenic areas were spatially limited and partially reversible after production ceased. The study highlights the usefulness of multitemporal remote sensing for monitoring extractive impacts in environmentally sensitive regions. Keywords: Ecuadorian Amazon, Oil Industry, LULC, Random Forest, Environmental Monitoring.