Historical Geomorphological Research of a Ligurian Coastal Floodplain (Italy) and Its Value for Management of Flood Risk and Environmental Sustainability

Anna Roccati, Fabio Luino, Laura Turconi, Pietro Piana, Charles Watkins and Francesco Faccini
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Anna Roccati: Istituto di Ricerca per la Protezione Idrogeologica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Strada della Cacce 73, 10135 Torino, Italy
Fabio Luino: Istituto di Ricerca per la Protezione Idrogeologica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Strada della Cacce 73, 10135 Torino, Italy
Laura Turconi: Istituto di Ricerca per la Protezione Idrogeologica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Strada della Cacce 73, 10135 Torino, Italy
Pietro Piana: School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Sir Clive Granger Building, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Charles Watkins: School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Sir Clive Granger Building, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Francesco Faccini: Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra dell’Ambiente e della Vita, Università di Genova, Corso Europa 26, 16132 Genova, Italy

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-24

Abstract: The alluvial plain of the Entella River (Eastern Liguria), historically affected by damaging flood events, has been heavily modified over the past 250 years by human activity and natural processes. A qualitative and quantitative analysis of the morphological and land use evolution of the Entella floodplain since the 18th century was carried out using base maps and aerial photos ranging from 1758 to 2016. These diverse sources were Geographical Information System (GIS) georeferenced. Additional information on land-use change was gathered from historical documents and recent research reports. The main transformations to the floodplain include morphological changes, e.g., narrowing, channelization, displacement of the river channel and the advance of the coastal line due to fills and embankments. In addition, there has been very significant urbanization with loss of vegetated and agricultural areas. Our results indicate the primary role of human disturbance on morphological changes and landscape modifications of the coastal floodplain, particularly over the last 200 years. Furthermore, the historical geomorphological and cartographical analysis we adopted to reconstruct the floodplain transformation represents an essential tool in flood risk mitigation and environmental sustainability management, particularly in an urbanized coastal plain historically affected by floods.

Keywords: urban sprawl; land-use change; floods; coastal floodplain; Liguria; Mediterranean Sea (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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