Recent trends in forest cover changes: only positive implications?

Sallustio, Lorenzo; Simpatico, Annamaria; Munafò, Michele; Giancola, Carmen; Tognetti, Roberto; Vizzarri, Matteo; Marchetti, Marco

doi:10.4129/ifm.2015.4.03

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…These results confirm the trends outlined in the Mediterranean region since 1950s [71]. Furthermore, it is worth highlighting that the relative incidence of the reforestation process (with respect to their respective total surfaces), was higher in SR B (5.8%) than in SR C (4.2%), thus reflecting the so-called "mountain effect", which is already described for Southern French Alps [40] and Apennines, since the transhumance period is finished [15]. The "mountain effect" implies that there is less farm abandonment, and agricultural lands loss, in higher compared to medium mountains.…”

Section: Shrinkage Of the Agricultural Landssupporting

confidence: 76%

Where Land Use Changes Occur: Using Soil Features to Understand the Economic Trends in Agricultural Lands

et al. 2017

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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.

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Section: Shrinkage Of the Agricultural Landssupporting

confidence: 76%

Where Land Use Changes Occur: Using Soil Features to Understand the Economic Trends in Agricultural Lands

et al. 2017

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“…Questo quadro, apparentemente molto favorevole dal punto di vista delle politiche di protezione passiva, mostra anche alcune criticità (Sallustio et al 2015a). L'espansione delle foreste è avvenuta soprattutto nella fascia alto-collinare e montana a causa della crisi del settore primario, che un tempo era non solo il motore dello sviluppo economico e del lavoro, ma anche un importante presidio per la manutenzione del territorio.…”

Section: Invecchiamento O Abbandono?unclassified

Forests and forest-wood system in Italy: towards a new strategy to address local and global challenges

Marchetti¹,

Motta²,

Pettenella³

et al. 2018

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Forest cover in Italy has increased threefold in slightly more than a century. In 2018 the area covered by forest will be, for the first time since long, larger than that covered by active cultivation. In the same time, the stewardship of forest ecosystem services such as biodiversity provision, hydrogeological protection, and landscape conservation has increased. More than 27% of Italian forests are included in protected areas; 86% of forests is subject to limitation of use connected to soil protection and water cycle regulation, and 100% is under the landscape conservation law. Italy is also home of one of the largest economies of wood transformation, but 80% of the raw material is imported, which implies several environmental, socioeconomic , and ethical issues, both domestically and abroad. The conditions are ripe to plan for a responsible management of the natural capital in the country's forests. A forest management that is active, shared, and conscious of domestic and global implications will be the best chance to maintain and improve the ecosystem services provided by forests in Italy.

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“…The study area overlaps the entire national surface of Italy (about 300,000 km 2 ) with high ecological and socio-economic variability. The mountain chains, namely Alps and Apennines, dominate the northern and the central part of the country, respectively, have been widely characterized by outmigration, land use abandonment, and forest expansion in the last decades [56]. During the same time-span, the low hills, plains, and coastlines experienced agricultural intensification and the growth of urban areas.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the Contribution of Trees outside Forests and Small Open Areas to the Italian Landscape Diversification during the Last Decades

Sallustio

Cristofaro

Hashmi

et al. 2018

Forests

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Land use by humans strongly alters the landscape mosaic, either by reducing or increasing its heterogeneity. One of the most recent and widespread land use changes in Europe has been the spontaneous reforestation of marginal agricultural lands. These primarily affected small landscape patches, such as trees outside forests (TOF) and small open areas (SOA), often represent the most diversifying features of landscape' structures. Nevertheless, only small-scale studies can be found in the literature and thus it remains a relatively unexplored issue. Integrating inventory and cartographic approaches, this work assesses changes in abundance, coverage, and average size of small patches in Italy between 1990 and 2013. Main results showed an overall increase in number and coverage of small patches during the reference period. The average patch size remains unaltered for TOF but decreases significantly for SOA, due to trees encroachment and canopy cover increasing in forests. Our findings confirm the important changes in Mediterranean land mosaics and contribute to a better understanding of current conditions and recent trends regarding TOF and SOA. The integrated approach has proven to be helpful for the large-scale assessment of small patches dynamics, representing a viable monitoring tool to encourage the inclusion of small patches in landscape policy and planning.Forests 2018, 9, 701 2 of 13 within the land mosaic have a strong impact on ecological processes and, in turn, on the functioning of socio-economic and ecological systems [5,6].Recently, humans have driven landscape dynamics much more than natural evolution [7,8]. Since the Industrial Revolution, intensive farming systems and urban land expansion at a global scale have increasingly altered the structures and functions of the existing landscapes at an unprecedented rate [9]. The anthropogenic influence is even more marked in landscapes characterized by higher levels of heterogeneity and built by centuries of human activities and modifications, such as those in the Mediterranean area [10][11][12]. During the last decades, the Mediterranean landscapes have indeed experienced a general decrease of agricultural lands, mainly due to their abandonment, followed by tree encroachment and subsequent woodland expansion [13,14], particularly in mountain and less profitable marginal lands [15][16][17]. Oppositely, the agricultural intensification and the expansion of urban areas, which usually follow a high scattered and fragmented spatial pattern, urban sprawl, and urban sprinkling [18,19], are occurring in lowlands and plains [20][21][22]. These phenomena are strictly interlinked and can alter the sustainability of such systems, especially in the medium-long term [22].Tree encroachment can have both positive and negative implications in terms of ecosystems' functionality and their capacity to provide ecosystem services (e.g., [23][24][25][26][27][28][29]). The risk associated with landscape homogenization [30] is particularly relevant if combined with urban expansion, ...

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Recent trends in forest cover changes: only positive implications?

Abstract: LORENZO SALLUSTIO () (°)-ANNAMARIA SIMPATICO () MICHELE MUNAFÒ () ()-CARMEN GIANCOLA () ROBERTO TOGNETTI (*) (****)-MATTEO VIZZARRI () MARCO MARCHETTI ()

Cited by 7 publications

References 58 publications

Where Land Use Changes Occur: Using Soil Features to Understand the Economic Trends in Agricultural Lands

Where Land Use Changes Occur: Using Soil Features to Understand the Economic Trends in Agricultural Lands

Forests and forest-wood system in Italy: towards a new strategy to address local and global challenges

Evaluating the Contribution of Trees outside Forests and Small Open Areas to the Italian Landscape Diversification during the Last Decades

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Recent trends in forest cover changes: only positive implications?

Abstract: LORENZO SALLUSTIO (*) (°)-ANNAMARIA SIMPATICO (*) MICHELE MUNAFÒ (**) (***)-CARMEN GIANCOLA (*) ROBERTO TOGNETTI (*) (****)-MATTEO VIZZARRI (*) MARCO MARCHETTI (*)

Cited by 7 publications

References 58 publications

Where Land Use Changes Occur: Using Soil Features to Understand the Economic Trends in Agricultural Lands

Where Land Use Changes Occur: Using Soil Features to Understand the Economic Trends in Agricultural Lands

Forests and forest-wood system in Italy: towards a new strategy to address local and global challenges

Evaluating the Contribution of Trees outside Forests and Small Open Areas to the Italian Landscape Diversification during the Last Decades

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Product

Resources

About

Abstract: LORENZO SALLUSTIO () (°)-ANNAMARIA SIMPATICO () MICHELE MUNAFÒ () ()-CARMEN GIANCOLA () ROBERTO TOGNETTI (*) (****)-MATTEO VIZZARRI () MARCO MARCHETTI ()