The Panama Canal watershed represents a globally strategic socio-ecological system where forest integrity underpins hydrological stability, biodiversity, and infrastructure functionality. In this study, we integrated vegetation plot analysis, GIS-based landscape metrics, and a composite Ecological Resilience Index (ERI) to assess spatial patterns of ecological resilience across primary forest, secondary forest, agro-mosaic, and peri-urban land covers. Vegetation plot data revealed that primary forests exhibit the highest species richness, basal area, canopy height, and structural complexity, whereas agro-mosaic and peri-urban areas are highly fragmented with reduced structural integrity. GIS-derived metrics demonstrated that contiguous primary forest cores and riverine corridors sustain high landscape connectivity (CONNECT index = 0.71) and function as critical dispersal pathways. The ERI spatial surface identified hotspots of high resilience (>0.75) within protected forest interiors and riparian zones, while anthropogenically modified edges exhibited significantly lower resilience (<0.40). Statistical analyses confirmed strong positive correlations between ERI and patch size (r = 0.68, p < 0.001) and negative correlations with edge density (r = −0.59, p < 0.001). These results emphasize that ecological resilience is spatially heterogeneous and strongly dependent on landscape configuration, structural integrity, and functional connectivity. The integrated framework provides a robust tool for resilience-based planning, highlighting the importance of conserving contiguous forest cores, maintaining riparian corridors, and restoring degraded patches to support biodiversity, ecosystem services, and watershed sustainability.
Citation: George Malaperdas, Marc Soler. Landscape structure, hydrological ecosystem services, and regional resilience: A GIS-based vegetation plot assessment of the Panama Canal Watershed, Panama[J]. Urban Resilience and Sustainability, 2026, 4(2): 111-128. doi: 10.3934/urs.2026007
The Panama Canal watershed represents a globally strategic socio-ecological system where forest integrity underpins hydrological stability, biodiversity, and infrastructure functionality. In this study, we integrated vegetation plot analysis, GIS-based landscape metrics, and a composite Ecological Resilience Index (ERI) to assess spatial patterns of ecological resilience across primary forest, secondary forest, agro-mosaic, and peri-urban land covers. Vegetation plot data revealed that primary forests exhibit the highest species richness, basal area, canopy height, and structural complexity, whereas agro-mosaic and peri-urban areas are highly fragmented with reduced structural integrity. GIS-derived metrics demonstrated that contiguous primary forest cores and riverine corridors sustain high landscape connectivity (CONNECT index = 0.71) and function as critical dispersal pathways. The ERI spatial surface identified hotspots of high resilience (>0.75) within protected forest interiors and riparian zones, while anthropogenically modified edges exhibited significantly lower resilience (<0.40). Statistical analyses confirmed strong positive correlations between ERI and patch size (r = 0.68, p < 0.001) and negative correlations with edge density (r = −0.59, p < 0.001). These results emphasize that ecological resilience is spatially heterogeneous and strongly dependent on landscape configuration, structural integrity, and functional connectivity. The integrated framework provides a robust tool for resilience-based planning, highlighting the importance of conserving contiguous forest cores, maintaining riparian corridors, and restoring degraded patches to support biodiversity, ecosystem services, and watershed sustainability.
| [1] |
Fahrig L (2003) Effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 34: 487-515.https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.34.011802.132419 doi: 10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.34.011802.132419
|
| [2] |
Haddad NM, Brudvig LA, Clobert J, et al. (2015) Habitat fragmentation and its lasting impact on Earth's ecosystems. Sci Adv 1: e1500052.https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1500052 doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1500052
|
| [3] | Folke C, Carpenter SR, Walker B, et al. (2010) Resilience thinking: Integrating resilience, adaptability and transformability. Ecol Soc 15: 20. Available from: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol15/iss4/art20/. |
| [4] |
Meerow S, Newell JP, Stults M (2016) Defining urban resilience: A review. Landscape Urban Plann 147: 38-49.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.11.011 doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.11.011
|
| [5] |
Cutter SL (2021) The changing nature of hazard and disaster risk in the Anthropocene. Ann Am Assoc Geogr 111: 819-827.https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2020.1744423 doi: 10.1080/24694452.2020.1744423
|
| [6] |
Xu H (2013) A remote sensing ecological index and its application in ecological change assessment. Acta Ecol Sin 33: 7853-7862.https://doi.org/10.5846/stxb201208301223 doi: 10.5846/stxb201208301223
|
| [7] |
Valjarević A (2025) Oil field impacts on Venezuela's rivers and water stress with environmental challenges. J South Am Earth Sci 164: 105675.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsames.2025.105675 doi: 10.1016/j.jsames.2025.105675
|
| [8] |
VValjarević A, Vukoičić D, Valjarević D (2017) Evaluation of the tourist potential and natural attractivity of the Lukovska Spa. Tour Manag Perspect 22: 7-16.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2016.12.004 doi: 10.1016/j.tmp.2016.12.004
|
| [9] |
Venkatesh R, Abdul Rahaman S, Jegankumar R, et al. (2020) Eco-environmental vulnerability zonation in essence of environmental monitoring and management. Int Arch Photogramm Remote Sens Spatial Inf Sci 43: 149-155.https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B5-2020-149-2020 doi: 10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B5-2020-149-2020
|
| [10] |
Keeley ATH, Beier P, Jenness JS (2021) Connectivity metrics for conservation planning and monitoring. Biol Conserv 255: 109008.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109008 doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109008
|
| [11] |
Liu F, Huang H, Lei F, et al. (2025) Ecological resilience assessment and scenario simulation considering habitat suitability, landscape connectivity, and landscape diversity. Sustainability 17: 5436.https://doi.org/10.3390/su17125436 doi: 10.3390/su17125436
|
| [12] |
Bruijnzeel LA (2004) Hydrological functions of tropical forests: Not seeing the soil for the trees?. Agric Ecosyst Environ 104: 185-228.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2004.01.015 doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2004.01.015
|
| [13] | de Lima Filho JA, Vieira RJAG, de Souza CAM, et al. (2021) Effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity patterns of ecosystems with resource competition. Physica A 564: 125497. |
| [14] |
Taylor PD, Fahrig L, Henein K, et al. (1993) Connectivity is a vital element of landscape structure. Oikos 68: 571-573.https://doi.org/10.2307/3544927 doi: 10.2307/3544927
|
| [15] |
Saura S, Pascual-Hortal L (2007) A new habitat availability index to integrate connectivity in landscape conservation planning: Comparison with existing indices and application to a case study. Landscape Urban Plann 83: 91-103.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2007.03.005 doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2007.03.005
|
| [16] |
Wu J (2013) Landscape sustainability science: Ecosystem services and human well-being in changing landscapes. Landscape Ecol 28: 999-1023.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-013-9894-9 doi: 10.1007/s10980-013-9894-9
|
| [17] |
Zurlini G, An YJ, Franklin E, et al. (2025) The crucial issue of spatial and temporal scale in ecological indication. Ecol Indic 174: 113466.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113466 doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113466
|
| [18] |
Condit R, Robinson W D, Ibáñez R, et al. (2001) The Status of the Panama Canal Watershed and Its Biodiversity at the Beginning of the 21st Century: Long-term ecological studies reveal a diverse flora and fauna near the Panama Canal, harbored within a corridor of forest stretching from the Caribbean to the Pacific, but deforestation, land degradation, erosion, and overhunting remain threats. BioScience 51: 389-398.https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0389:TSOTPC]2.0.CO;2 doi: 10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0389:TSOTPC]2.0.CO;2
|
| [19] |
Ibáñez R, Condit R, Angehr G, et al. (2002) An ecosystem report on the Panama Canal: Monitoring the status of the forest communities and the watershed. Environ Monit Assess 80: 65-95.https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020378926399 doi: 10.1023/A:1020378926399
|
| [20] |
Leigh EG, O'Dea A, Vermeij GJ (2014) Historical biogeography of the Isthmus of Panama. Biol Rev 89: 148-172.https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12048 doi: 10.1111/brv.12048
|
| [21] |
Abeli T, Cauzzi P, Rossi G, et al. (2016) Restoring population structure and dynamics in translocated species: Learning from wild populations. Plant Ecol 217: 183-192.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-015-0529-x doi: 10.1007/s11258-015-0529-x
|
| [22] |
Montgomery DR (2007) Soil erosion and agricultural sustainability. Proc Natl Acad Sci 104: 13268-13272.https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0611508104 doi: 10.1073/pnas.0611508104
|
| [23] |
Ferreira PA, Boscolo D, Lopes LE, et al. (2020) Forest and connectivity loss simplify tropical pollination networks. Oecologia 192: 577-590.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04579-7 doi: 10.1007/s00442-019-04579-7
|
| [24] |
Turner BL, Kasperson RE, Matson PA, et al. (2003) A framework for vulnerability analysis in sustainability science. Proc Natl Acad Sci 100: 8074-8079.https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1231335100 doi: 10.1073/pnas.1231335100
|
| [25] |
Neary DG, Ice GG, Jackson CR (2009) Linkages between forest soils and water quality and quantity. For Ecol Manage 258: 2269-2281.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2009.05.027 doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2009.05.027
|
| [26] | Malaperdas G, Soler M (2026) Integrating Remote Sensing, Citizen Science, and AI in Next-Generation Species Distribution Models: Emerging Opportunities and Challenges. World News Nat Sci 64: 246-262. |
| [27] |
Chave J, Réjou‐Méchain M, Búrquez A, et al. (2014) Improved allometric models to estimate the aboveground biomass of tropical trees. Global Change Biol 20: 3177-3190.https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12629 doi: 10.1111/gcb.12629
|
| [28] |
McElhinny C, Gibbons P, Brack C, et al. (2005) Forest and woodland stand structural complexity: Its definition and measurement. For Ecol Manage 218: 1-24.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2005.08.034 doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2005.08.034
|
| [29] |
Chazdon RL, Peres CA, Dent D, et al. (2009) The potential for species conservation in tropical secondary forests. Conserv Biol 23: 1406-1417.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01338.x doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01338.x
|
| [30] |
Poorter L, Bongers F, Aide TM, et al. (2016) Biomass resilience of Neotropical secondary forests. Nature 530: 211-214.https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16512 doi: 10.1038/nature16512
|
| [31] |
Guariguata MR, Ostertag R (2001) Neotropical secondary forest succession: Changes in structural and functional characteristics. For Ecol Manage 148: 185-206.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(00)00535-1 doi: 10.1016/S0378-1127(00)00535-1
|
| [32] |
Naiman RJ, Decamps H (1997) The ecology of interfaces: Riparian zones. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 28: 621-658.https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.28.1.621 doi: 10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.28.1.621
|
| [33] |
Folke C, Carpenter S, Walker B, et al. (2004) Regime shifts, resilience, and biodiversity in ecosystem management. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 35: 557-581.https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.35.021103.105711 doi: 10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.35.021103.105711
|
| [34] |
Roy DP, Wulder MA, Loveland TR, et al. (2014) Landsat-8: Science and product vision for terrestrial global change research. Remote Sens Environ 145: 154-172.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2014.02.001 doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2014.02.001
|
| [35] | Wulder MA, Coops NC, Roy DP, et al. (2018) Land cover 2.0. Int J Remote Sens 39: 4254-4284.https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2018.1452075 |
| [36] |
Zhu Z, Woodcock CE (2012) Object-based cloud and cloud shadow detection in Landsat imagery. Remote Sens Environ 118: 83-94.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2011.10.028 doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2011.10.028
|
| [37] |
Maxwell AE, Warner TA, Fang F (2018) Implementation of machine-learning classification in remote sensing: An applied review. Int J Remote Sens 39: 2784-2817.https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2018.1433343 doi: 10.1080/01431161.2018.1433343
|
| [38] |
Olofsson P, Foody GM, Stehman SV, et al. (2013) Making better use of accuracy data in land change studies: Estimating accuracy and area and quantifying uncertainty using stratified estimation. Remote Sens Environ 129: 122-131.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2012.10.031 doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2012.10.031
|
| [39] | McGarigal K, Cushman SA, Neel MC, et al. (2002) FRAGSTATS: Spatial pattern analysis program for categorical maps. Computer software program produced by the authors at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 3. |
| [40] | Fletcher RJ, Bullock JM, Graham LJ, et al. (2026) Resurrecting habitat fragmentation as a process over time. Trends Ecol Evol.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2026.03.009 |
| [41] |
Malaperdas G (2025) Biodiversity and ecosystem service assessment in terrestrial habitats. Urban Resilience Sustain 3: 293-305.https://doi.org/10.3934/urs.2025015 doi: 10.3934/urs.2025015
|
| [42] |
Eleni V, Apostolos S, George M (2025) Cultural heritage risk assessment in a changing rural landscape: The case study of Northeastern Messenia, Greece. Digit Appl Archaeol Cult Heritage 38: e00425.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.daach.2025.e00425 doi: 10.1016/j.daach.2025.e00425
|
| [43] |
Holling CS (1996) Surprise for science, resilience for ecosystems, and incentives for people. Ecol Appl 6: 733-735.https://doi.org/10.2307/2269475 doi: 10.2307/2269475
|
| [44] | Walker B, Holling CS, Carpenter SR, et al. (2004) Resilience, adaptability and transformability in social-ecological systems. Ecol Soc 9: 5. http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol9/iss2/art5 |
| [45] |
Foley JA, DeFries R, Asner GP, et al. (2005) Global consequences of land use. Science 309: 570-574.https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1111772 doi: 10.1126/science.1111772
|
| [46] |
Bennett EM, Peterson GD, Gordon LJ (2009) Understanding relationships among multiple ecosystem services. Ecol Lett 12: 1394-1404.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01387.x doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01387.x
|
| [47] | Armenteras D, González-Delgado TM, González-Trujillo JD, et al. (2023) Local stakeholder perceptions of forest degradation: Keys to sustainable tropical forest management. Ambio 52: 733-742. |
| [48] |
Hansen ECA, Battaglia D, Spiegler A, et al. (2015) Functional connectivity dynamics: Modeling the switching behavior of the resting state. Neuroimage 105: 525-535.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.11.001 doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.11.001
|
| [49] | Wasserstein RL, Schirm AL, Lazar NA (2019) Moving to a world beyond "p < 0.05". Am Stat 73: 1-19.https://doi.org/10.1080/00031305.2019.1583913 |
| [50] |
Haddad NM, Brudvig LA, Clobert J, et al. (2015) Habitat fragmentation and its lasting impact on Earth's ecosystems. Sci Adv 1: e1500052.https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1500052 doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1500052
|
| [51] |
Malaperdas G, Maggidis C, Karantzali E, et al. (2022) The habitation model trend calculation (MTC): Ancient topography-the Mycenaean Spercheios Valley case study. Interdiscip Archaeol 13: 29-39. http://doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2022.1.3 doi: 10.24916/iansa.2022.1.3
|
| [52] |
Turner MG (2010) Disturbance and landscape dynamics in a changing world. Ecology 91: 2833-2849.https://doi.org/10.1890/10-0097.1 doi: 10.1890/10-0097.1
|
| [53] | Malaperdas G (2019) The influence and impact of bioclimatic indicators on the evolution of biosociety. A geoarchaeological approach. World News Nat Sci 24: 189-199. |
Figures(3)
George Malaperdas, Marc Soler. Landscape structure, hydrological ecosystem services, and regional resilience: A GIS-based vegetation plot assessment of the Panama Canal Watershed, Panama[J]. Urban Resilience and Sustainability, 2026, 4(2): 111-128. doi: 10.3934/urs.2026007
DownLoad: