A Multitemporal Fragmentation-Based Approach for a Dynamics Analysis of Agricultural Terraced Systems: The Case Study of Costa Viola Landscape (Southern Italy)

Salvatore Praticò, Francesco Solano, Salvatore Di Fazio and Giuseppe Modica
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Salvatore Praticò: Dipartimento di Agraria, Università degli Studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Località Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Francesco Solano: Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, via San Camillo de Lellis, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Salvatore Di Fazio: Dipartimento di Agraria, Università degli Studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Località Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Giuseppe Modica: Dipartimento di Agraria, Università degli Studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Località Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 4, 1-19

Abstract: Among landscapes, rural landscapes are important because they simultaneously present functional and cultural aspects. Rural landscapes are often created to modify the Earth’s surface according to different human needs and, among these modifying activities, terracing has significant anthropogenic effect. A multitemporal approach that covers a significant time interval is crucial for monitoring the integrity and cultural value of historical rural landscapes. The present research aims to study the fragmentation dynamics detectable in an active agricultural terraced system of historical and cultural relevance over a considerable time interval, by conducting a morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA). We analysed a period of about 60 years, from 1955 to 2014, considering five intermediate years (1976, 1989, 1998, 2008, and 2012) and investigated the dynamics that occurred. We detected a trend of abandonment of agricultural terraces, with a reduction in area from 813.25 ha (in 1955) to 118.79 ha (in 2014). The MSPA results showed a decrease in core areas, the most stable pattern, and an increase in the relative importance of other less stable classes. Moreover, we highlighted two different fragmentation dynamics, i.e., one between 1955 and 1976 and the other between 1998 and 2008.

Keywords: change detection analysis; cultural landscapes; terraced agricultural landscapes; land use/land cover (LU/LC) mapping; morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA); landscape fragmentation; landscape dynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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