Search

Geosites, a precious and nonrenewable geosphere resource, constitute a wealth from educational, scientific, naturalistic and cultural points of view, capable of expressing an economic potential proportional to their tourist appeal (Bentivenga 2015). This study is part of an important methodological framework: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA 2005), an international project that defines and quantifies ecosystem services (ES) and assesses changes and their consequences on human well-being. The methodology, which is progressively becoming as a cognitive support aimed at the environmental sizing of territorial policies, is considered particularly effective in assessing the impacts of choices associated with different land use scenarios as well as to protection and/or valorization policies. Adequate tool development for sustainable governance passes through a planning activity based on the integration of ecological, economic and sociopolitical elements within an interdisciplinary framework, to which the ecosystem analysis is able to provide important evaluation elements (Cowell and Lennon Environ Plann C Politics Space 32:263-282, 2014). According to MEA (2005), ES are grouped into four categories: supply, regulatory, support and cultural services. Starting from that, this work contributes to build an interpretative model for the evaluation of a relevant part of the fourth class: the territorial tourist attractiveness of the Basilicata region considering location and spatial distribution of the 113 regional geosites surveyed by ISPRA. Two different GIS-based methodologies have been applied to the context of the Basilicata region: the first based on linear geographical regression and the second through the use of InVEST, an open source suite. Comparing the results is useful to improve regional tourist attractiveness connected with territorial distribution of natural resources.

Fires are one of the main causes of environmental degradation as they have an impact on flora and fauna, can also strongly influence ecological and geomorphological processes and permanently compromise the functionality of the ecosystems and soils on which they impact. The severity of the fire event influences the superficial hydrological response and the consequent loss of soil. Precipitation on the basins recently affected by fires produces an increase in the outflow which commonly transports and deposits large volumes of sediment, both inside and downstream of the burned area. In the years following the fire, the loss of soil is very high and the degradation processes of the soils are much greater than in the pre-event. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential annual loss due to post-fire erosion using remote sensing techniques, RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) methodology and GIS tecniques in nine different event occurred in 2019 in the northern part of the Apulia Region (Southern Italy). Geographic Information System techniques and remote sensing data have been adopted to study the post-fire soil erosion risk. Satellite images are the most appropriate for environmental monitoring as they provide high resolution multispectral optical images, infact are able to monitor the development of vegetation by assessing the water content an changes in chlorophyll levels. This study can be useful to spatial planning authorities as a tool for assessing and monitoring eroded soil in areas affected by fires, representing a useful tool for land management.

Italy is a geologically complex and relatively young territory that is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters (i.e., earthquakes, flooding, landslides). In particular, landslide activity is considered one of the most relevant processes shaping the Italian peninsula, often closely affecting urban and industrial areas and infrastructures. Landslide activity in southern Italy strongly influenced the development of urban areas by controlling the shape and the areal extend of the urban settlements. In this paper, we propose a multidisciplinary approach capable of assessing the correlation between landslides and the spatial distribution of urban fabric. To this aim, we consider as case studies, the two municipalities of Pisticci and Corleto Perticara, in the Basilicata region in southern Italy, that strongly differ for the geological contexts and landslide types. The evolution in time of the landslide activity and the shape variations of the two considered settlement systems is described in terms of shape index from 1950 to 2006. Starting from the description of the two study areas, from both the geological and the urban point of view, the shape index will be calculated. Eventually, the results obtained will be compared with the perimeters of the urban centers defined by the respective urban planning regulations.

A limited sector of the left side Sinni River, including Episcopia village, has been investigated matching geological and geomorphological data to In-SAR Interferometry analysis. A large Deep-Seated Gravitational Slopes (DSGSD), affecting the Episcopia slope, has been documented for the first time. The DSGSD largely develops within phyllites belonging to the Liguride Units and, in the upper portion of the slope, within the sandy and conglomerate deposits of the Sant’Arcangelo Basin. Field survey has shown typical DSGSD features as well as trenches at the top and an evident bulge at the base corresponding to the Sinni River. These data allow us to hypothesize a listric geometry of the DSGSD plane reaching a depth of about 700 m.