Estimating Land Cover Changes Using Multi-temporal Spectral Index Raster Stacks in the Chinampas of Xochimilco

Densely populated premodern human settlements relied on a diverse range of ingenious agricultural techniques. Although most of these techniques have been abandoned and forgotten, chinampas in Mexico City have somehow prevailed. Chinampas are a unique premodern technique that is based on creating artificial islets for agricultural activities. Although debatable, premodern agricultural practices such as these have recently gained interest because of the insights they might hold for future food production practices. Some consider that these last active remnants of premodern society could be considered sustainable because of the manner they have managed to combine cultural and environmental conservation with continuous agricultural productivity despite rampart urbanization. Better understanding and continuous monitoring of regions such as these are important not only for cultural and environmental preservation but as potential blueprints for future food systems design. Assuming maintaining vegetation and moisture levels as well as controlling urban sprawl are key elements for chinampa conservation, this paper suggests using open access Sentinel 2A images and R to create multi-temporal spectral index raster stacks can be used to assess changes between years, seasons in months in the communal lands known as Ejidos of Xochimilco and San Gregorio Atlapulco. If so, low cost monitoring methods such as these can be used in local governments that have limited funds for specialized software, hardware and human resources.