A combined GIS and remote sensing approach for monitoring climate change-related land degradation to support landscape preservation and planning tools: the Basilicata case study

Abstract

Monitoring landscapes in times of climate change patterns is a crucial issue, moreover, in the analyzed Mediterranean area, one of the major global candidates to develop land degradation stresses and consequential desertification phenomena. The research presented here is developed in the Mediterranean Basin, specifically in the Basilicata Region (southern Italy). The region is characterized by a very long history of intensive anthropization endowed by the high diversity of relatively geologically young soil types that consequentially created a vastity of spatial mosaics, which contributed to the composition of its archeolandscapes and endorsed some specific characteristics of the Mediterranean region, that evolved to respond to the human impact, including grazing, cultivation, and fires. Those key elements lead to the crucial issues of the region investigated here as soil erosion, salinization, loss of organic carbon, loss of biodiversity, and landslides, which together with deforestations, depopulation, and wildfires, define the exact framework of degradation and marginality. The evaluation of the sensitivity to degradation was performed (i) firstly at the regional scale, through a MEDALUS (Kosmas et al. 1999) approach, by implementing 6 main indicators (Soil Quality Index, Climate Quality Index, Vegetation Quality Index, Management Quality Index, Landslide Risk Index, Water Availability Index), and (ii) secondly at the mid-regional scale, through remote sensing by evaluation of the NDVI differencing thresholds in time intervals, covering a 20 years’ time span going from 2000 to 2020. The study helped to define the in-progress land degradation trends and scenarios of the region, which must be the evidence-based foundation of integrated landscape planning strategies in marginal territories, implemented through a Decision Support System (DSS) based both on ecological, climate-adaptive, and environmental indicators, and on social, cultural, and economic development co-creation strategies.

Modeling Spatio-Temporal Divergence in Land Vulnerability to Desertification with Local Regressions

“…A similar mismatch occurred for the RAP of Calabria and Basilicata regions (see [103,104]). The findings of the RAP of Basilicata proved to be aligned with other ESA-based studies [105,106]. Lastly, the RAP of Sardinia (see [107]) presented results partially overlapping with our map for the time frame 1990-2010 and with the map derived from an independent work, based on the integration of models and remote sensing data [67].…”

Monitoring Land Degradation Dynamics to Support Landscape Restoration Actions in Remote Areas of the Mediterranean Basin (Murcia Region, Spain)

“…This methodology demonstrates that remote sensing information can be delivered dynamically to follow trends in land transformation, providing added value and opportunities for different operators to collaborate towards adaptive management actions. Although this research is still in its early stages, this approach has the potential to offer valuable insights and facilitate cooperation among different dryland stakeholders [ 41 ].…”

Caring for the forests of an inland area in the era of climate change: a case study of Basilicata, Southern Italy

“…Da segnalare, ad esempio, in apparente controtendenza, un'espansione naturale di comunità preforestali (arbusteti) in zone esposte a siccità e in aree considerate fragili in rapporto al rischio di desertificazione (Mancino et al 2014). Oltre agli effetti sui sistemi forestali, il cambiamento climatico acuisce i problemi di degrado dai quali la Basilicata è affetta, con un'alta percentuale di territorio esposta a rischi di desertificazione, soprattutto nella parte sud-orientale del territorio regionale (Ferrara et al 2005, Gabriele et al 2023. In generale, la vulnerabilità del territorio appare maggiore nelle aree soggette a cambiamenti rispetto a quelle con modelli stabili di uso del suolo, come quelle forestali e seminaturali (Salvati et al 2013).…”