The study of changes in land use has been included lately in territorial processes in order to optimize future management decisions. The different functions that the territory plays (production, aesthetic, and natural functions, etc.) make planning choices more difficult. This work focuses on the selection and combination of a set of indicators to analyze the variables through which the changes occur in the land used in viticulture for wine production. The proposed approach makes use of the Geographic Information System (GIS) in the development of a map of land use scenario. It is applied to a case study through a model involving cellular automata (CA) implemented with maps of suitability for viticulture and Markov chains. The use in this case of the CA is aimed at validating the scenario map in order to deduce the variables and the orientations of the farmers in the field of wine production.
The holistic role of forests going beyond the economic function, identified in timber production, substantiates the evaluation of forests’ social and environmental dimensions. Consequently, biodiversity, landscape, hydro-geological security, and maintenance of cultures and traditions are among the manifold issues to be addressed in dealing with forests. Touristic and recreational role of forests is also associated with the disproportionate development of human activities, sources of pollution often correlated to a reduced quality of life. This paper aims at applying the benefit transfer methodology to estimate (from a financial point of view) the recreational and touristic value of wooded areas. The proposed approach relies on an extensive literature review including earlier published books, project’ reports, scientific journals, and conference proceedings addressing the economic evaluation of forests. The reviewed methodologies are then rationally synthesized, adapted, and applied on two case studies in Tuscany, in an attempt to assign a value to forest’s systems; however, only the recreational and touristic dimensions are considered. The ultimate purpose of this work is to emphasize aspects that were not yet properly considered in the financial appraisal of wooded areas, for a balanced management of natural resources avoiding deterioration and neglect
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