Analysis of the Forest Landscape and Its Transformations through Phytotoponyms: A Case Study in Calabria (Southern Italy)

Giovanni Spampinato, Rita Crisarà, Piergiorgio Cameriere, Ana Cano-Ortiz and Carmelo Maria Musarella
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Giovanni Spampinato: Agraria Department, Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, Località Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Rita Crisarà: Via Trabocchetto I, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Piergiorgio Cameriere: Viale Sant’Angelo 12, 87064 Corigliano-Rossano, Italy
Ana Cano-Ortiz: Department of Animal and Plant Biology and Ecology, Section of Botany, University of Jaén, Campus Las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Carmelo Maria Musarella: Agraria Department, Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, Località Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 4, 1-16

Abstract: Place names, or toponyms, provide a useful geographical reference system; they can help analyse past landscapes, recover history and understand changes. Among place names, plant place names (phytotoponyms) can be used to analyse the current and past distribution of plants and plant communities and to highlight changes in land use due to human impacts and climate change. We assessed the feasibility of using place names related to species and forest ecosystems to evaluate changes that have affected the forest landscape. As a case study, we considered Calabria, a region in southern Italy rich in toponymic studies. We used the official topographic maps of Calabria, at scales of 1:25,000 and 1: 10,000, and literature data on Calabrian toponymy. To interpret toponyms related to plants and avoid errors, we performed a joint linguistic and naturalistic analysis. A total of 1609 phytotoponyms were identified relating to 45 forest species (28 trees and 17 shrubs) and 399 place names generically related to woods and forests. The most frequent plants associated with place names were Castanea sativa (8.3% of all plant place names), Quercus pubescens s.l. (7.2%), Salix sp. pl. (6.9%) and Quercus frainetto (5.6%). All the phytotoponyms were georeferenced and mapped in a GIS. Phytotoponym distribution maps were compared with current Calabrian forest vegetation, using digital orthophotos, land use maps and literature data. A close correspondence between phytotoponyms and forest vegetation for the mountain belt was identified. In contrast, in the basal belt, we found poor correspondence between phytotoponyms and current forest vegetation, especially for wet forests, that can be accounted for by the severe changes in the landscape due to the agricultural and urban transformations that have occurred. The spread of phytotoponyms concerning species linked to forest degradation, such as Spartium junceum , emphasises the ancient anthropic impacts on forests. Our study shows that phytotoponyms are an important tool for analysing changes in vegetation over time. They make it possible to reconstruct changes in the landscape and the intended use of the territory and provide useful information on the restoration of forest ecosystems.

Keywords: forest landscape change; plant place names; forest restoration; habitat (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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