Although increasing concern about climate change has raised awareness of the fundamental role of forest ecosystems, forests are threatened by human-induced impacts worldwide. Among them, wildfire risk is clearly the result of the interaction between human activities, ecological domains, and climate. However, a clear understanding of these interactions is still needed both at the global and local levels. Numerous studies have proven the validity of the socioecological system (SES) approach in addressing this kind of interdisciplinary issue. Therefore, a systematic review of the existing literature on the application of SES frameworks to forest ecosystems is carried out, with a specific focus on wildfire risk management. The results demonstrate the existence of different methodological approaches that can be grouped into seven main categories, which range from qualitative analysis to quantitative spatially explicit investigations. The strengths and limitations of the approaches are discussed, with a specific reference to the geographical setting of the works. The research suggests the importance of local community involvement and local knowledge consideration in wildfire risk management. This review provides a starting point for future research on forest SES and a supporting tool for the development of a sustainable wildfire risk adaptation and mitigation strategy.

The paper deals with an automated methodology for the digital acquisition of thematic information from historical maps in order to use them for spatial analysis in a GIS software. This methodology has been applied to an early XIX c. map in order to assess the historical changes in the forest coverage in Trentino. Specifically, a tailored Object Based Image Analysis (OBIA) and filtering procedure has been applied to digitize and georeference Cesare Battisti’s map of forest density published in his atlas “Il Trentino. Economic Statistical Illustration” from 1915. According to the historical ecology approach, forest history can be analyzed and evaluated with the use of historical documentary sources. Following this approach, historical cartography is a precious information tool, and in many respects unique, through which it is possible to reconstruct the evolution of the forest cover of a given territory. Trentino, in particular, has a rich heritage of historical maps from which to draw useful information for the construction of a qualitative and quantitative diachronic picture of the evolutionary dynamics of wooded areas. In these territories, forest management is a topic of great importance both for its socio-economic implications and for the more strictly environmental ones, connected to the increasingly urgent need to implement mitigation and adaptation policies towards climate change. Thus, the paper presents the historical maps and illustrates the methodology used for the digitisation. Data extracted by the historical sources have been compared with the current one in order to identify changes in forest density in the last century.

Understanding ongoing trends at local level is fundamental in research on climate change. However, in the Global South it is hampered by a lack of data. The scarcity of land-based observed data can be overcome through satellite-derived datasets, although performance varies according to the region. The purpose of this study is to compute the normal monthly values of precipitation for the eight main inhabited areas of North Horr Sub-County, in northern Kenya. The official decadal precipitation dataset from the Kenyan Meteorological Department (KMD), the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC) monthly dataset and the Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS) monthly dataset are compared with the historical observed data by means of the most common statistical indices. The GPCC showed the best fit for the study area. The Quantile Mapping correction is applied to combine the high resolution of the KMD dataset with the high performance of the GPCC set. A new and more reliable bias-corrected monthly precipitation time series for 1983–2014 results for each location. This dataset allows a detailed description of the precipitation distribution through the year, which can be applied in the climate change adaptation and tailored territorial planning.

The purpose of 2007/60 UE Directive is namely the establishment of a framework for measures to reduce the risks of flood damage in Europe. In Italy, the Po Basin District Authority, with the contribution of the regional Authorities, published the hazard and risk maps, which are now in force and available for public participation. A common methodology to evaluate risks is now necessary, in order to set priorities for flood management and the financing of countermeasures (ReNDiS procedure). An analysis for the quantification of risk of flooding is presented in the chapter by means of the proportional index of risk (IRP). In particular, it is focused on the flood's lamination strategy, at the entrance of Turin, in terms of hazard and the risk reduction. The sensitivity analysis of the main variables that affect the results is presented and discussed. The benefits of the designed countermeasures are evaluated and quantified in terms of percentage risk reduction. The methodology proves to be a suitable means for decision-makers to compare flooding risks in the flood-prone areas, which are mapped by the 2007/60 UE Directive.

After the publication of the flood directive hazard and risk maps, risk assessment and risk evaluation became useful tools to set priorities for flood management and for countermeasure financing. Regione Piemonte, in collaboration with Politecnico di Torino and University of Turin, proposed a procedure for risk assessment (named IRP model, Index of Proportional Risk), already applied in different case studies. The comparison among the obtained results and the collected data on damages recorded during the recent 2016 flood in Piemonte region showed the effectiveness of the IRP procedure for the quantitative assessment of direct damages. The IRP model can also be usefully applied to the revision and the updating of flood directive risk maps and to assess the cost/benefit ratio of the designed countermeasures (National Repository for Soil defense (Re.N.Di.S.) procedure).