This study investigates the major land use change processes over the 1990-2008 period in Abruzzo region (Central Italy) in relation to the characteristics of the soils and with particular regard to their capability for agricultural purposes, in order to highlight their implications on agricultural productivity. The relative changes in the agricultural incomes and land values were also estimated. To this end, we proposed an inventory approach as a flexible and feasible way for monitoring land use changes at multiple scales. As main outcomes, the shrinkage of agricultural lands and their internal changes (intensification vs. extensification processes) were highlighted. The shrinkage of agricultural lands was strictly related to: (a) reforestation process in mountain areas and less productive lands after land abandonment; and (b) urbanization on plains and more productive lands. Although the intensification process was demonstrated to have a positive effect on the overall regional agricultural incomes, especially on high quality soils, this was not adequate to compensate the economic loss due to the other land use changes, especially in marginal areas and low-to-medium quality soils. Finally, the paper discusses the geographical pattern of land use change processes across the region, including their interrelations and combined effects, and ultimately offers recommendations to decision-makers addressing future sustainable development objectives from local to global scale.
Soils perform several functions in delivering ecosystem services and soil thematic maps are useful for environmental modelling, landscape planning, and management optimization. This study aimed at producing the first soil rooting depth map of Italy at 1:250,000 scale based on the legacy soil maps, soil data and benchmark profiles, combined with the auxiliary data. The map highlights that moderately deep (33%) and deep (25%) soils are predominant and mainly distributed in hilly areas, while very deep soils (18%) are prevalent in the fluvial and coastal plains. The validation procedure showed that 87% of the soil rooting depth map classes fall within the same and adjacent classes of the measured soil profiles database. The soil rooting depth map of Italy at 1:250,000 scale can be a useful tool to support land management and spatial planning in terms of agro-environmental measures, making reliable assessments for ecological sustainability studies, and for environmental territorial analyses.
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