Anthropogenic Influences in Land Use/Land Cover Changes in Mediterranean Forest Landscapes in Sicily

Donato S. La Mela Veca, Sebastiano Cullotta, Sebastiano Sferlazza and Federico G. Maetzke
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Donato S. La Mela Veca: Università Degli Studi di Palermo, Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Viale delle Scienze, Edificio 4, Ingresso H, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Sebastiano Cullotta: Università Degli Studi di Palermo, Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Viale delle Scienze, Edificio 4, Ingresso H, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Sebastiano Sferlazza: Università Degli Studi di Palermo, Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Viale delle Scienze, Edificio 4, Ingresso H, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Federico G. Maetzke: Università Degli Studi di Palermo, Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Viale delle Scienze, Edificio 4, Ingresso H, 90128 Palermo, Italy

Land, 2016, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: This paper analyzes and quantifies the land use/land cover changes of the main forest and semi-natural landscape types in Sicily between 1955 and 2012. We analyzed seven representative forest and shrubland landscapes in Sicily. These study areas were chosen for their importance in the Sicilian forest panorama. We carried out a diachronic survey on historical and current aerial photos; all the aerial images used to survey the land use/land cover changes were digitalized and georeferenced in the UTM WGS84 system. In order to classify land use, the Regional Forest Inventory 2010 legend was adopted for the more recent images, and the CORINE Land Cover III level used for the older, lower resolution images. This study quantifies forest landscape dynamics; our results show for almost all study areas an increase of forest cover and expansion, whereas a regressive dynamic is found in rural areas due to intensive agricultural and pasturage uses. Understanding the dynamics of forest landscapes could enhance the role of forestry policy as a tool for landscape management and regional planning.

Keywords: land use/land cover changes; landscape dynamics; climate changes; human-dominated landscape; socioeconomic factors; forest management models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:5:y:2016:i:1:p:3-:d:62908

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