A Procedure for Evaluating Historical Land Use Change and Resilience in Highly Reclaimed Coastal Areas: The Case of the Tavoliere di Puglia (Southern Italy)
In this research, an operative procedure for the evaluation of land use change that occurred in highly reclaimed coastal areas from the middle of the XIX century up to the present day is proposed. The multitemporal analysis envisages the use of historical maps, aerial photographs, and satellite imag...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/4/775 |
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| author | Vincenzo De Santis Angela Rizzo Giovanni Scardino Giovanni Scicchitano Massimo Caldara |
| author_facet | Vincenzo De Santis Angela Rizzo Giovanni Scardino Giovanni Scicchitano Massimo Caldara |
| author_sort | Vincenzo De Santis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this research, an operative procedure for the evaluation of land use change that occurred in highly reclaimed coastal areas from the middle of the XIX century up to the present day is proposed. The multitemporal analysis envisages the use of historical maps, aerial photographs, and satellite images, whose interpretation is performed in a GIS environment. The proposed methodological approach starts from the interpretation of the symbols used in the legend of the historical maps. Subsequently, in order to compare historical information with the most recent land use classifications (i.e., CORINE land cover), a set of twenty-two macro-categories is proposed to find a compromise between a highly detailed land use classification and its applicability to both historical and present-day data. The study area is located in the coastal sector of the Tavoliere di Puglia (Apulia region, Southern Italy), the second-largest coastal plain in Italy. In this area, environmental changes were mostly driven by extensive reclamation and drainage works, which allowed more than 170 km<sup>2</sup> of land to be removed from coastal marshes and wetlands. The results show a strong increase in the surface occupied by arable land, urban areas, and saltwork, which today occupy about 57%, 3%, and 23% of the total investigated area, respectively. In contrast, the total surface occupied by grassland, pasture, meadow, and shrubland decreased from 59.6% in 1869 to 4.6% in the present-day setting. It is worth noting that although fluvial sediments were trapped and used to fill the marshy areas, the coastline prograded up to the first half of the XX century, favouring the formation of wide coastal dune systems. Nevertheless, the natural coastal resilience of the investigated system has been reduced since the second half of the XX century, probably as a consequence of the construction of numerous dams in the Ofanto River catchment, which represents the main river in the investigated area. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:51:18Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:51:18Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-b2936d4079924848ba38289a409404e82023-11-17T20:02:03ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2023-03-0112477510.3390/land12040775A Procedure for Evaluating Historical Land Use Change and Resilience in Highly Reclaimed Coastal Areas: The Case of the Tavoliere di Puglia (Southern Italy)Vincenzo De Santis0Angela Rizzo1Giovanni Scardino2Giovanni Scicchitano3Massimo Caldara4Department of Earth and Geoenvironmental Sciences, Campus Universitario, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Edoardo Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, ItalyDepartment of Earth and Geoenvironmental Sciences, Campus Universitario, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Edoardo Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, ItalyDepartment of Earth and Geoenvironmental Sciences, Campus Universitario, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Edoardo Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, ItalyDepartment of Earth and Geoenvironmental Sciences, Campus Universitario, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Edoardo Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, ItalyDepartment of Earth and Geoenvironmental Sciences, Campus Universitario, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Edoardo Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, ItalyIn this research, an operative procedure for the evaluation of land use change that occurred in highly reclaimed coastal areas from the middle of the XIX century up to the present day is proposed. The multitemporal analysis envisages the use of historical maps, aerial photographs, and satellite images, whose interpretation is performed in a GIS environment. The proposed methodological approach starts from the interpretation of the symbols used in the legend of the historical maps. Subsequently, in order to compare historical information with the most recent land use classifications (i.e., CORINE land cover), a set of twenty-two macro-categories is proposed to find a compromise between a highly detailed land use classification and its applicability to both historical and present-day data. The study area is located in the coastal sector of the Tavoliere di Puglia (Apulia region, Southern Italy), the second-largest coastal plain in Italy. In this area, environmental changes were mostly driven by extensive reclamation and drainage works, which allowed more than 170 km<sup>2</sup> of land to be removed from coastal marshes and wetlands. The results show a strong increase in the surface occupied by arable land, urban areas, and saltwork, which today occupy about 57%, 3%, and 23% of the total investigated area, respectively. In contrast, the total surface occupied by grassland, pasture, meadow, and shrubland decreased from 59.6% in 1869 to 4.6% in the present-day setting. It is worth noting that although fluvial sediments were trapped and used to fill the marshy areas, the coastline prograded up to the first half of the XX century, favouring the formation of wide coastal dune systems. Nevertheless, the natural coastal resilience of the investigated system has been reduced since the second half of the XX century, probably as a consequence of the construction of numerous dams in the Ofanto River catchment, which represents the main river in the investigated area.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/4/775land use analysisland use categoriescoastal landscaperesilienceApulia region |
| spellingShingle | Vincenzo De Santis Angela Rizzo Giovanni Scardino Giovanni Scicchitano Massimo Caldara A Procedure for Evaluating Historical Land Use Change and Resilience in Highly Reclaimed Coastal Areas: The Case of the Tavoliere di Puglia (Southern Italy) Land land use analysis land use categories coastal landscape resilience Apulia region |
| title | A Procedure for Evaluating Historical Land Use Change and Resilience in Highly Reclaimed Coastal Areas: The Case of the Tavoliere di Puglia (Southern Italy) |
| title_full | A Procedure for Evaluating Historical Land Use Change and Resilience in Highly Reclaimed Coastal Areas: The Case of the Tavoliere di Puglia (Southern Italy) |
| title_fullStr | A Procedure for Evaluating Historical Land Use Change and Resilience in Highly Reclaimed Coastal Areas: The Case of the Tavoliere di Puglia (Southern Italy) |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Procedure for Evaluating Historical Land Use Change and Resilience in Highly Reclaimed Coastal Areas: The Case of the Tavoliere di Puglia (Southern Italy) |
| title_short | A Procedure for Evaluating Historical Land Use Change and Resilience in Highly Reclaimed Coastal Areas: The Case of the Tavoliere di Puglia (Southern Italy) |
| title_sort | procedure for evaluating historical land use change and resilience in highly reclaimed coastal areas the case of the tavoliere di puglia southern italy |
| topic | land use analysis land use categories coastal landscape resilience Apulia region |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/4/775 |
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