Research Use of GIS for the Study of the Impact of Habitat Change on the Structure and Dynamics of Avifauna in Wetlands (Chott Echchergui, Algeria)

Abstract

The Chott EchChergui is rich in diversity and a wintering place par excellence for water birds. But currently it is facing a strong destructive pressure which results in a drastic decline in the avian populations. The study focuses on an experimental mapping of the ecological habitat of this ecosystem in order to ensure good monitoring of the dynamics of its avian community over a period of 20 years. The approach adopted consists in the development of a new methodology based on the combination of applications from Geographic Information Systems, with fields observation data obtained through field surveys.

The results made it possible to establish a list of 72 species of birds belonging to 27 families and 13 orders. The mapping of the habitat made it possible to establish a georeferenced database on avian biodiversity and also to produce four thematic maps by means of an interpolation by continuous coloring of the four parameters acting on the evolution of avian numbers. These results only confirm the state of degradation of this ecosystem which is at the origin of the erosion of its avian biodiversity.)