Land use and land cover (LULC) change is a dynamic process influenced by various factors, including agricultural expansion. In Chile’s Aconcagua Basin, avocado plantations are potentially driving territorial transformations. However, current land cover data lacks the resolution required to accurately assess this impact. Accordingly, our study used advanced geospatial analysis techniques to address this gap. Through a detailed analysis of the spatial and temporal changes, it was determined that the most significant expansion of avocado plantations occurred between 2003 and 2013, with an increase of 402%. This growth primarily took place at the expense of native vegetation, particularly sclerophyllous shrubland, as well as other agricultural lands, near agricultural and urban lands. By 2023, changes in avocado plantation were significantly slower, with minimal alterations in LULC (5%), suggesting a possible influence of drought on small-scale farmers. However, the small loss of avocado plantation was mainly replaced by fruit farm land. Moreover, our findings suggest that while avocado plantations have become larger, more dominant, and more isolated, native vegetation has become more fragmented and reduced in patch size. Based on these results, sustainable land management practices were proposed. These findings provide a crucial foundation for developing sustainable land management strategies that balance agricultural production with environmental sustainability, landscape transformation and the well-being of local communities.

Difficult access and a lack of in situ data limit monitoring of high-Andean wetlands, which are key components of water regulation in central Chile. This study analyzes the multitemporal dynamics of vegetation in three high Andean wetlands of the headwater (1HW), lateral (2LW), and confluence (3CW) types in the Los Nogales Nature Sanctuary between 2018 and 2025. We integrated Sentinel-2 Level 2A images, annual accumulated precipitation from the ERA5-Land product (lag-1 year), and high-resolution UAV-derived boundaries to characterize six spectral indices (NDVI, EVI, NDRE704, NDRE705, NDWI, and SAVI) and their relationship with water variability. Annual precipitation ranged from ~420 to 780 mm during a regional megadrought. The headwater wetland showed the greatest climate sensitivity, with significant correlations between the previous year's precipitation and NDVI, NDRE705, EVI, SAVI, and NDWI (|R| ≥ 0.70; p < 0.05), while in the lateral and confluence wetlands, the relationships were moderate or weak. Multitemporal mosaics showed maximum vegetative vigor between 2018 and 2021, followed by a decline. Overall, the results confirm that integrating the Sentinel-2 series, climate reanalysis, and UAV delimitation is an effective tool for ecohydrological monitoring and management of high-Andean wetlands.

High-Andean wetlands are critical ecosystems for water regulation and carbon storage. This study analyzes the impact of climate variability on vegetation dynamics in eight wetlands located in the Estero Ortiga sub-basin, within the Los Nogales Nature Sanctuary (Metropolitan Region, Chile), between 2017 and 2024. We used time series of NDVI and NDCI indices derived from Sentinel-2 imagery (January 2017 to September 2024), along with monthly temperature and precipitation data from ERA5-Land (January 2016 to September 2024). Trends were assessed through linear regression, and vegetation–climate relationships were analyzed using Pearson correlations with a one-year lag. Results show a progressive decline in vegetation cover (slope: −2.04 × 10⁻⁵ NDVI) and chlorophyll content (slope: −1.15 × 10⁻⁵ NDCI), with strong positive correlations between annual precipitation and vegetation indices in the subsequent summer (R = 0.83–0.88 for NDVI; R = 0.84–0.90 for NDCI). Annual NDVI reclassification highlighted a reduction in healthy vegetation cover from 2020 onward. This research provides novel evidence linking climate trends and vegetation health in high-Andean wetlands, reinforcing the utility of satellite-based indicators for conservation monitoring.