Search

This 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies relating form and functions of cities indicate sprawl as an intriguing research issue, especially for certain typologies of cities. Although with inherent differences on a local scale, Mediterranean cities offer a kaleidoscopic overview of sprawl morphologies that require dedicated monitoring tools. The present study provides an original assessment of recent urbanization processes in the Mediterranean region by considering swimming pools as a 'sprawl landmark'. Two indicators ('pools per population' and 'pools per area') are derived from digital interpretation of Google Earth diachronic imagery at two points in time (early 2000s and early 2010s) in a compact Mediterranean city (Athens, Greece) which is actually evolving towards urban scattering. The spatial distribution of swimming pools in Athens is strongly polarized with the 'pools per population' indicator being associated to low-density, isolated settlements and the 'pools per area' indicator growing in medium-low density, discontinuous settlements. Both indicators were validated through correlation with independent variables assessing sprawl patterns on a municipal scale. The indicators proposed respond to basic criteria such as easy computation and graphical representation, flexibility, cheapness and comprehensibility to non-technical stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greece has experienced particularly severe and frequent forest fires during Summer 2007 together with exceptionally dry meteorological conditions culminated in distinct heat waves. The present study analyzes the time pattern of daily values of two fire risk indices (Nesterov and Angstrom) based on meteorological data made available for a number of gauging stations between 1 June and 31 August over the 1998-2013 time interval. Weather data were supplemented with meteorological re-analysis profiles with the aim to validate the daily outputs of the two fire risk indices in extreme climatic conditions. Nesterov and Angstrom indices classified Summer 2007 meteorological conditions as exceptional with high probability of fire occurrence during the whole dry season in the majority of Greek regions. Meteorological re-analysis indicates a high deviation of selected upper atmospheric variables from the climatic average since early July 2007 representing persistent and widespread meteorological conditions favourable to fire occurrence in Greece. The crucial role of indicator-based monitoring of heat waves and exceptionally-dry meteorological conditions for mega-fire surveillance in the Mediterranean basin was finally discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indicator-based approaches are often used to monitor land degradation and desertification from the global to the very local scale. However, there is still little agreement on which indicators may best reflect both status and trends of these phenomena. In this study, various processes of land degradation and desertification have been analyzed in 17 study sites around the world using a wide set of biophysical and socioeconomic indicators. The database described earlier in this issue by Kosmas and others (Environ Manage, ) for defining desertification risk was further analyzed to define the most important indicators related to the following degradation processes: water erosion in various land uses, tillage erosion, soil salinization, water stress, forest fires, and overgrazing. A correlation analysis was applied to the selected indicators in order to identify the most important variables contributing to each land degradation process. The analysis indicates that the most important indicators are: (i) rain seasonality affecting water erosion, water stress, and forest fires, (ii) slope gradient affecting water erosion, tillage erosion and water stress, and (iii) water scarcity soil salinization, water stress, and forest fires. Implementation of existing regulations or policies concerned with resources development and environmental sustainability was identified as the most important indicator of land protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An approach to derive relationships for defining land degradation and desertification risk and developing appropriate tools for assessing the effectiveness of the various land management practices using indicators is presented in the present paper. In order to investigate which indicators are most effective in assessing the level of desertification risk, a total of 70 candidate indicators was selected providing information for the biophysical environment, socio-economic conditions, and land management characteristics. The indicators were defined in 1,672 field sites located in 17 study areas in the Mediterranean region, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Based on an existing geo-referenced database, classes were designated for each indicator and a sensitivity score to desertification was assigned to each class based on existing research. The obtained data were analyzed for the various processes of land degradation at farm level. The derived methodology was assessed using independent indicators, such as the measured soil erosion rate, and the organic matter content of the soil. Based on regression analyses, the collected indicator set can be reduced to a number of effective indicators ranging from 8 to 17 in the various processes of land degradation. Among the most important indicators identified as affecting land degradation and desertification risk were rain seasonality, slope gradient, plant cover, rate of land abandonment, land-use intensity, and the level of policy implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study illustrates a framework to evaluate soil consumption in Mediterranean regions experiencing rapid urban growth. Results indicate that high-quality soils more suitable for agriculture and forestry were mostly consumed by urbanization especially in flat areas. The consumption of these soils was not concentrated in the first observation period (1948-1975) corresponding to the development of compact settlements, but increased significantly in the last period (1975-2010) mainly characterized by discontinuous and low-density urban expansion. The study underlines the urgent need to inform development policies and urban planning with an in-depth quantification of the soil resource base lost by urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

this study was aimed to assess the causes of the structural decline in the renewal rate of a pristine oak forest close to Rome (central Italy) by analyzing long-term measurements of the water budget in open and fenced areas. Despite dry climate conditions in the area, long-term soil moisture measurements at 100 cm soil depth indicated that an enough large amount of water is available to oaks during the whole year. Moreover, while trees did not suffer from water deficit during summer, they may experience root asphyxia during rainy years. The analysis of the water budget clarified that, even during exceptionally-dry years, oak renewal was not limited by dry climate conditions. Instead, overgrazing due to the high demographic pressure determined by wild boars which eat almost exclusively oak acorns and deer which eat the leafs of young plants was one of the most important factors affecting oak renewal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land vulnerable to desertification increased in the Mediterranean basin since World War II due to several interacting factors including climate variations, land-use changes and growing human pressure. It was hypothesized that the increase in the level of land vulnerability is not distributed homogeneously over time and space while impacting preferentially landscapes surrounding large urban agglomerations. This hypothesis was tested diachronically (1960-2010) in the peri-urban area of Rome (Central Italy) to clarify how different factors causing land vulnerability to desertification impact a fragile landscape close to the city with one of the largest coastal forest in Italy. Four partial indicators (climate quality, soil quality, vegetation quality, land management quality) developed within the Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) framework and measuring the level of land vulnerability have been calculated at a detailed spatial scale. The highest growth rate in land vulnerability has been observed in cropland while coastal woodlands showed a relatively high and stable land quality over time. Conservation strategies of relict forest ecosystems considered as 'buffer zones' contrasting land degradation processes are particularly important in Mediterranean peri-urban regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban expansion and agriculture intensification are relevant drivers in Land Degradation (LD) processes in Europe due to net loss of land, soil sealing, landscape fragmentation and other negative effects on the environment. This paper explores changes (or "trajectories" of change) in land use and cover (LULC) and their relationship with the consumption of soils in Em ilia-Rom agna (northern Italy) over a 55-years period from 1954 to 2008, and separately over three time periods (1954-1976,1976-1994 and 1994-2008) characterized by distinctive processes of urban and agricultural development. Four high-resolution LULC maps for 1954, 1976, 1994, and 2008 were analysed together with a 1:50,000 scale land capability map used as an indicator of soil quality. Out of an investigated area of around 12.000 km2, 34% underwent changes in LULC over the entire study period. "Agriculture internal conversions" accounted for 46% of the changes and "urban expansion" for as much as 35%. The first period was characterized by "agriculture internal conversions" associated with intensification processes. In the second period internal agricultural conversions became even more important. In the third period the most relevant conversion process was agricultural extensivation, with urban expansion also becoming relevant. During the entire period, the area consumed by urban expansion took around 41 % of the high-quality soils. Other trajectories consumed soils of lower quality, with the exception of internal agricultural conversions (accounting for another 46%). The suggested approach can provide valuable indications for assessing quantity and quality of soils taken by urban expansion, thus orienting sustainable land management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study illustrates the long-term changes in selected socioeconomic variables (population, industrial activities, settlement dispersion, and land-use) together with climate aridity trends in Thriasio, the larger industrial area of Greece located twenty kilometers far from Athens. This region, originally devoted to agriculture, experienced fast industrial and economic development during the early 1990s coupled with growing population. According to statistical data covering the period between 1848 and 2011, human pressure increased rapidly in the area determining drastic changes in land-use. The analysis of climate regimes based on meteorological data collected between 1958 and 2010 also indicate a tendency towards aridity possibly contributing to air pollution, soil degradation and desertification. Without a sustainable land management strategy changes in bio-physical and socioeconomic variables are altering irreversibly the fragile ecological equilibrium leading to ecosystem degradation in a highly-populated area since millennia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decades, due to climate changes, soil deterioration, and Land Use/Land Cover Changes (LULCCs), land degradation risk has become one of the most important ecological issues at the global level. Land degradation involves two interlocking systems: the natural ecosystem and the socio-economic system. The complexity of land degradation processes should be addressed using a multidisciplinary approach. Therefore, the aim of this work is to assess diachronically land degradation dynamics under changing land covers. This paper analyzes LULCCs and the parallel increase in the level of land sensitivity to degradation along the coastal belt of Sardinia (Italy), a typical Mediterranean region where human pressure affects the landscape characteristics through fires, intensive agricultural practices, land abandonment, urban sprawl, and tourism concentration. Results reveal that two factors mainly affect the level of land sensitivity to degradation in the study area: (i) land abandonment and (ii) unsustainable use of rural and peri-urban areas. Taken together, these factors represent the primary cause of the LULCCs observed in coastal Sardinia. By linking the structural features of the Mediterranean landscape with its functional land degradation dynamics over time, these results contribute to orienting policies for sustainable land management in Mediterranean coastal areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to the article "Land Use, Climate and Transport of Nutrients: Evidence Emerging from the Lake Vico Case Study" that was published in August 10, 2013 issue is presented.