1,721,001 research outputs found
Linking traditional tree-crop landscapes and agro-biodiversity in Central Italy using a database of typical and traditional products: a multiple risk assessment through a data mining analysis
No full textUnderstanding the latent relationship between rural landscape and biodiversity conservation is of key importance when aiming to preserve food security, ecosystem services and the quality of the environment. Crop intensification negatively impacted the biodiversity of rural areas and was followed by the adoption of mono-cultural production models. The conservation of traditional agricultural landscapes (TALs) based on traditional land management approaches, ensures the conservation of the ecosystem’s complexity and high levels of biodiversity. In Europe, Mediterranean TALs are threatened by a combination of anthropogenic and natural factors. The need to preserve TALs is widely recognized despite the lack of comprehensive information and collective policy strategies. On
the other hand, inventories are available for endangered cultivars, typical products and traditional agricultural practices. This study focuses on the relationship between TALs and the use of local varieties/typical products
Syndromes of Land Degradation and Implications for Ecosystem Services in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. An Evaluation Framework for the Past and in Face of a Changing Climate
No full textCoastal vs inland sensitivity to desertification: a diachronic analysis of biophysical and socioeconomic factors in Latium, Italy
No full textThe present study assesses the spatial distribution of a composite index of land sensitivity to desertification
(called ISD) in the coastal area of Rome, including natural areas such as Castelporziano forest, compared with
inland areas of Latium region, central Italy. Based on two partial indicators integrating 10 elementary variables (five biophysical attributes investigating climate, soil and vegetation, and five socioeconomic attributes assessing population pressure, changes in the use of land and human pressure), the ISD was calculated for two reference years (1970 and 2000) and at the municipal scale in Latium region. Results indicate a positive trend in the ISD in both coastal and inland areas with territorial disparities widening significantly over the studied period. Interestingly, coastal urban and peri-urban municipalities showed the highest growth rate in the ISD. These finding possibly reflects rising human pressure in lowland and coastal areas experiencing urbanization compared to internal hilly and mountain areas
Multi-temporal land use and cover changing analysis: the environmental impact in Mediterranean area
No full textHuman activity shapes the levels of anthropogenic pressure that depend on the land management method adopted. This has a fundamental role in the transformation of traditional landscapes. This study focuses on a representative region of the Mediterranean area with the objective to analyse the landscape’s dynamics, to detect the spatial arrangement of class patches, to identify the main agroecosystem characters and to provide a framework to assess ecosystems services. In order to assess land use/land cover changes and landscape persistence, the period between 1960 and 2012 was analysed, taking into consideration the years 1960, 2000 and 2012 using comparable land use maps. Land use and land cover analysis show an urban area growth of 24% during 2000–2012 and of 523% over between 1960 and 2012. The very high levels of land abandonment up to the year 2000 (+7216%) have reversed their trend between 2000 and 2012 (−95%). The orchards showed a relevant increase, particularly after 2000, while the vineyards were linked to the highest value of surface erosion
(−74%). The outcomes showed that urban settlements can damage the ecological network with negative effects on the landscape’s environmental sustainability in proximity of significant urban centres. Instead, the ecological network is well preserved and highly associated to the agricultural areas when there is the persistence of many land uses and low urban density, despite the presence of dynamic changes
Does Forest Expansion Mitigate the Risk of Desertification? Exploring Soil Degradation and Land-use Changes in a Mediterranean Country
No full textThe present study evaluates the vulnerability to soil degradation of four land-use classes (urban areas, cropland, forests and non-forest natural land) during 1960–2010 using the Environmental Sensitive Area Index (ESAI) to verify if forests mitigate the increase of desertification risk in Italy. Results indicate that forests was the class with the lowest level of vulnerability during the whole investigated period and with the growth rate (1960–2010) in the ESAI always below the one observed on a landscape scale. Non-forest natural land showed a moderate increase in the ESAI coupled with a relatively high vulnerability level. The temporal pattern of four indicators (climate, soil, vegetation and land management) composing the ESAI was analyzed to identify the variables which affect the level of vulnerability for each land-use class. Results contributes to the understanding of complex landscape-forest interactions in Mediterranean fragile ecosystems
Linking trajectories of land change, land degradation processes and ecosystem services
No full textLand Degradation (LD) is a complex phenomenon resulting in a progressive reduction in the capacity of providing ecosystem services (ES). Landscape transformations promoting an unsustainable use of land often reveal latent processes of LD. An evaluation carried out in respect to the different ecosystem services is nowadays regarded as the most appropriate approach for assessing the effects of LD. The aim of this study is to develop an evaluation framework for identifying the linkages between land changes, LD processes and ES and suggesting Sustainable Land Management (SLM) options suited to reverse (or mitigate) LD impact. A SWOT analysis was carried out with the aim to identify internal and external factors that are favorable (or unfavorable) to achieve the proposed SLM actions. The study areas are the Fortore valley and the Valpadana, in Italy. The main trajectory identified for the Fortore valley is related to land abandonment due to population aging and the progressive emigration started in the 1950s. The most relevant LD processes are soil erosion and geomorphological instability, affecting regulating services such as natural hazard and erosion control. SLM options should consider interventions to contrast geomorphological instability, the promotion of climate smart agriculture and of typical products, and an efficient water resources management. The main trajectories identified for Valpadana are related to urban expansion and farmland abandonment and, as a consequence, land take due to anthropogenic pressure and woodland expansion as the main LD process. The reduction of food production was identified as the most relevant provisioning service affected. SLM should envisage best practices finalized to water saving and soil consumption reduction: efficient irrigation solutions, climate smart agriculture and zero sealing practices. This study highlights the diagnostic value of the suggested approach where LD processes are elicited from land change trajectories determining specific impacts on ES and providing operational support for the implementation of SLM options
Planning for sustainable agro-forest systems: protected areas and soil degradation hotspots in Italy (1990–2010)
No full textInvestigating spatio-temporal trends in soil vulnerability to degradation based on the diachronic analysis of selected biophysical and socioeconomic drivers is a key issue for the identification of prone areas. The working hypothesis of the present study is that a given territorial system may undergo different (and sometimes contrasting) patterns of soil vulnerability (improvement, worsening or stability) in the long term, thus creating (or amplifying) spatial heterogeneity in land resource distribution. Areas classified as “critical” are regarded as soil vulnerability hotspots that require dedicated mitigation policies. The correct identification of “critical” areas to soil degradation is particularly important for the natural areas and, more generally, for the agro-forest systems preserved under various land protection regimes. Based on these premises, the objectives of this study are (i) to assess the spatial distribution of soil vulnerability in Italy over a long enough time interval (1990–2010), (ii) to provide an operational tool to identify soil degradation hotspots according to the observed vulnerability trend and, finally, (iii) to analyze hotspot spatial distribution in relation with natural protected areas and the Natura2000 network. The results of this study provide a useful tool for environmental monitoring and are discussed in the light of sustainable agro-forest management and preservation of natural areas
Unraveling Landscape Complexity: Land Use/Land Cover Changes and Landscape Pattern Dynamics (1954–2008) in Contrasting Peri-Urban and Agro-Forest Regions of Northern Italy
No full textThis study implements an exploratory data analysis of landscape metrics and a change detection analysis of land use and population density to assess landscape dynamics (1954–2008) in two physiographic zones (plain and hilly-mountain area) of Emilia Romagna, northern Italy. The two areas are characterized by different landscape types: a mixed urban–rural landscape dominated by arable land and peri-urban settlements in the plain and a traditional agro-forest landscape in the hilly-mountain area with deciduous and conifer forests, scrublands, meadows, and crop mosaic. Urbanization and, to a lesser extent, agricultural intensification were identified as the processes underlying landscape change in the plain. Land abandonment determining natural forestation and re-forestation driven by man was identified as the process of change most representative of the hilly-mountain area. Trends in landscape metrics indicate a shift toward more fragmented and convoluted patterns in both areas. Number of patches, the interspersion and juxtaposition index, and the large patch index are the metrics discriminating the two areas in terms of landscape patterns in 1954. In 2008, mean patch size, edge density, interspersion and juxtaposition index, and mean Euclidean nearest neighbor distance were the metrics with the most different spatial patterns in the two areas. The exploratory data analysis of landscape metrics contributed to link changes over time in both landscape composition and configuration providing a comprehensive picture of landscape transformations in a wealthy European region. Evidence from this study are hoped to inform sustainable land management designed for homogeneous landscape units in similar socioeconomic contexts
The contribution of vegetation science to current environmental issues at the landscape level in the Mediterranean Region.
No full text- …
