Quantitative Assessment of Riverbed Planform Adjustments, Channelization, and Associated Land Use/Land Cover Changes: The Ingauna Alluvial-Coastal Plain Case (Liguria, Italy)
The active-channel planform adjustments that have occurred along the Centa, lower Arroscia and lower Neva rivers since 1930, along with the riverbed channelization processes and the land-use and land-cover changes in disconnected riverine areas, were investigated through a multitemporal analysis bas...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/18/3775 |
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| author | Andrea Mandarino Giacomo Pepe Andrea Cevasco Pierluigi Brandolini |
| author_facet | Andrea Mandarino Giacomo Pepe Andrea Cevasco Pierluigi Brandolini |
| author_sort | Andrea Mandarino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The active-channel planform adjustments that have occurred along the Centa, lower Arroscia and lower Neva rivers since 1930, along with the riverbed channelization processes and the land-use and land-cover changes in disconnected riverine areas, were investigated through a multitemporal analysis based on remote sensing and geographical information systems (GIS). These watercourses flow through the largest Ligurian alluvial-coastal plain in a completely anthropogenic landscape. This research is based on the integrated use of consolidated and innovative metrics for riverbed planform analysis. Specific indices were introduced to assess active-channel lateral migration in relation to the active-channel area abandonment and formation processes. The Arroscia and Neva riverbeds experienced narrowing, progressive stabilization, and braiding phenomena disappearance from 1930 to the early 1970s, and then slight narrowing up to the late 1980s. Subsequently, generalized stability was observed. Conversely, the Centa was not affected by relevant planform changes. Recently, all rivers underwent a slight to very slight width increase triggered by the November 2016 high-magnitude flood. The active-channel adjustments outlined in this paper reflect the relevant role in conditioning the river morphology and dynamics played by channelization works built from the 1920s to the early 1970s. They (i) narrowed, straightened, and stabilized the riverbed and (ii) reduced the floodable surface over the valley-floor. Thus, large disconnected riverine areas were occupied by human activities and infrastructures, resulting in a progressive increase in vulnerable elements exposed to hydrogeomorphic hazards. The outlined morphological dynamics (i) display significant differences in terms of chronology, type, and magnitude of active-channel planform adjustments with respect to the medium- and short-term morphological evolution of most Italian rivers and (ii) reflect the widespread urbanization of Ligurian major valley floors that occurred over the 20th century. The outcomes from this study represent an essential knowledge base from a river management perspective; the novel metrics enlarge the spectrum of available GIS tools for active-channel planform analysis. |
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| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:14:40Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-a2f74727bc7544839a671bbf6f2c61a92023-11-22T15:08:10ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922021-09-011318377510.3390/rs13183775Quantitative Assessment of Riverbed Planform Adjustments, Channelization, and Associated Land Use/Land Cover Changes: The Ingauna Alluvial-Coastal Plain Case (Liguria, Italy)Andrea Mandarino0Giacomo Pepe1Andrea Cevasco2Pierluigi Brandolini3Department of Earth Environment and Life Sciences, University of Genova, Corso Europa 26, 16132 Genova, ItalyDepartment of Earth Environment and Life Sciences, University of Genova, Corso Europa 26, 16132 Genova, ItalyDepartment of Earth Environment and Life Sciences, University of Genova, Corso Europa 26, 16132 Genova, ItalyDepartment of Earth Environment and Life Sciences, University of Genova, Corso Europa 26, 16132 Genova, ItalyThe active-channel planform adjustments that have occurred along the Centa, lower Arroscia and lower Neva rivers since 1930, along with the riverbed channelization processes and the land-use and land-cover changes in disconnected riverine areas, were investigated through a multitemporal analysis based on remote sensing and geographical information systems (GIS). These watercourses flow through the largest Ligurian alluvial-coastal plain in a completely anthropogenic landscape. This research is based on the integrated use of consolidated and innovative metrics for riverbed planform analysis. Specific indices were introduced to assess active-channel lateral migration in relation to the active-channel area abandonment and formation processes. The Arroscia and Neva riverbeds experienced narrowing, progressive stabilization, and braiding phenomena disappearance from 1930 to the early 1970s, and then slight narrowing up to the late 1980s. Subsequently, generalized stability was observed. Conversely, the Centa was not affected by relevant planform changes. Recently, all rivers underwent a slight to very slight width increase triggered by the November 2016 high-magnitude flood. The active-channel adjustments outlined in this paper reflect the relevant role in conditioning the river morphology and dynamics played by channelization works built from the 1920s to the early 1970s. They (i) narrowed, straightened, and stabilized the riverbed and (ii) reduced the floodable surface over the valley-floor. Thus, large disconnected riverine areas were occupied by human activities and infrastructures, resulting in a progressive increase in vulnerable elements exposed to hydrogeomorphic hazards. The outlined morphological dynamics (i) display significant differences in terms of chronology, type, and magnitude of active-channel planform adjustments with respect to the medium- and short-term morphological evolution of most Italian rivers and (ii) reflect the widespread urbanization of Ligurian major valley floors that occurred over the 20th century. The outcomes from this study represent an essential knowledge base from a river management perspective; the novel metrics enlarge the spectrum of available GIS tools for active-channel planform analysis.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/18/3775earth observationmultitemporal analysisplanform metricsQGISfluvial geomorphologychannel adjustments |
| spellingShingle | Andrea Mandarino Giacomo Pepe Andrea Cevasco Pierluigi Brandolini Quantitative Assessment of Riverbed Planform Adjustments, Channelization, and Associated Land Use/Land Cover Changes: The Ingauna Alluvial-Coastal Plain Case (Liguria, Italy) Remote Sensing earth observation multitemporal analysis planform metrics QGIS fluvial geomorphology channel adjustments |
| title | Quantitative Assessment of Riverbed Planform Adjustments, Channelization, and Associated Land Use/Land Cover Changes: The Ingauna Alluvial-Coastal Plain Case (Liguria, Italy) |
| title_full | Quantitative Assessment of Riverbed Planform Adjustments, Channelization, and Associated Land Use/Land Cover Changes: The Ingauna Alluvial-Coastal Plain Case (Liguria, Italy) |
| title_fullStr | Quantitative Assessment of Riverbed Planform Adjustments, Channelization, and Associated Land Use/Land Cover Changes: The Ingauna Alluvial-Coastal Plain Case (Liguria, Italy) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quantitative Assessment of Riverbed Planform Adjustments, Channelization, and Associated Land Use/Land Cover Changes: The Ingauna Alluvial-Coastal Plain Case (Liguria, Italy) |
| title_short | Quantitative Assessment of Riverbed Planform Adjustments, Channelization, and Associated Land Use/Land Cover Changes: The Ingauna Alluvial-Coastal Plain Case (Liguria, Italy) |
| title_sort | quantitative assessment of riverbed planform adjustments channelization and associated land use land cover changes the ingauna alluvial coastal plain case liguria italy |
| topic | earth observation multitemporal analysis planform metrics QGIS fluvial geomorphology channel adjustments |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/18/3775 |
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