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

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.

• Publication year

  2016

• Venue

  Land

• Publication date

  2016-01-26

• Fields of study

  Geography, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.3390/LAND5010003
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Mitigation of Climate Change: Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

  2015cited by this paper
• Resources for Assessment

  2015cited by this paper
• The Halaesa landscape (III B.C.) as ancient example of the complex and bio-diverse traditional Mediterranean polycultural landscape

  2014cited by this paper
• Near-term climate change:Projections and predictability

  2014cited by this paper
• The contribution of urbanization to recent extreme heat events and a potential mitigation strategy in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei metropolitan area

  2013cited by this paper
• Near-term climate change:projections and predictability

  2013cited by this paper
• An Inventory Approach to the Assessment of Main Traditional Landscapes in Sicily (Central Mediterranean Basin)

  2012cited by this paper
• Influence of irrigated agriculture on diurnal surface energy and water fluxes, surface climate, and atmospheric circulation in California

  2012cited by this paper
• Understanding the impact of dam‐triggered land use/land cover change on the modification of extreme precipitation

  2012cited by this paper
• Strumenti conoscitivi per la gestione delle risorse forestali della Sicilia. Tipi Forestali.

  2011cited by this paper
• Development of the GTAP Version 7 Land Use Data Base

  2010cited by this paper
• Economic Analysis of Land Use in Global Climate Change Policy

  2009cited by this paper
• Atlante nazionale delle aree a rischio di desertificazione

  2007cited by this paper
• Global Consequences of Land Use

  2005cited by this paper
• Recent Dynamics of the Mediterranean Vegetation and Landscape: Mazzoleni/Recent Dynamics of the Mediterranean Vegetation and Landscape

  2005cited by this paper
• The Importance of Land-Cover Change in Simulating Future Climates

  2005cited by this paper
• Ecologie et biogéographie des forêts du bassin méditerranéen

  2003cited by this paper
• The Nature of Mediterranean Europe: An Ecological History

  2003cited by this paper
• Reviews

  2001cited by this paper
• Land-Use History as Long-Term Broad-Scale Disturbance: Regional Forest Dynamics in Central New England

  1998cited by this paper
• Civiltà e imperi del Mediterraneo : nell'età di Filippo II

  1953cited by this paper

• Old-Growth Forests and Bryophyte Communities in Italy and the Broader Mediterranean Region: A Literature Review

  2025cites this paper
• Soil infiltration rates in mediterranean mountain areas: relationship with soil properties and different land-use

  2025cites this paper
• Land Use/Change and Local Population Movements in Stone Pine Forests: A Case Study of Western Türkiye

  2025cites this paper
• Learning from farmers on potentials and limits for an agroecological transition: a participatory action research in Western Sicily

  2024cites this paper
• The changing land use and land cover in the Mediterranean Basin: implications on forest ecosystem services

  2023cites this paper
• Management of land use in heritage tourism: Case study Mount Fuji (Japan) and Mount Merapi (Indonesia)

  2023cites this paper
• IMPACT OF LAND USE ACTIVITIES ON THE HYDROLOGICAL REGIME IN THE JUNJUNG RIVER BASIN, PENANG ISLAND, MALAYSIA

  2023cites this paper
• Environmental Impact of Land Use and Land Cover Change in Rampal, Bangladesh: A Google Earth Engine-Based Remote Sensing Approach

  2022cites this paper
• Role of land‐cover and WUI types on spatio‐temporal dynamics of fires in the French Mediterranean area

  2022cites this paper
• Impacts of land-use and land-cover changes on surface urban heat islands in Addis Ababa city and its surrounding

  2021cites this paper
• Forest accessibility, Madonie mountains (northern Sicily, Italy): implementing a GIS decision support system

  2021cites this paper
• Four images of projectification: an integrative review

  2021cites this paper
• Erosion risk assessment: A contribution for conservation priority area identification in the sub-basin of Lake Tana, north-western Ethiopia

  2021cites this paper
• Efficacy of Spatial Land Change Modeler as a forecasting indicator for anthropogenic change dynamics over five decades: A case study of Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat, India

  2020cites this paper
• Which are Southern Italy’s fastest growing tree species? Lessons from the past for future perspectives, with a special focus on Sicily

  2020cites this paper
• Coastal Scenery: Evaluation and Management

  2019cites this paper
• Evaluation, Analysis and Perception of Sustainable Forest Management through the Lens of the PEFC Forest Certification Using Two Case Studies in Sicily1

  2019cites this paper
• Forest Management through the lens of the PEFC forest

  2019cites this paper
• Mapping Land-Use and Land-Cover Changes in Bahir Dar City and its Surrounds Using Remote Sensing

  2019cites this paper
• Geobotanical approach to detect land-use change of a Mediterranean landscape: a case study in Central-Western Sicily

  2018cites this paper
• 70 Years of Land Use/Land Cover Changes in the Apennines (Italy): A Meta-Analysis

  2018cites this paper
• Criteria to identify old-growth forests in the Mediterranean: A case study from Sicily based on a literature review and some management proposals

  2018cites this paper
• Effects of traditional forest management on carbon storage in a Mediterranean holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) coppice

  2018cites this paper
• First Observations of Initial Blow Fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Activity on Lava Fields and in Subterranean Environments in Sicily in Cool Temperatures

  2018cites this paper
• The Management of Coastal Landscapes

  2018cites this paper
• Geobotanical approach to detect land-use change of a Mediterranean landscape: a case study in Central-Western Sicily

  2018cites this paper
• Variations in the susceptibility to landslides, as a consequence of land cover changes: A look to the past, and another towards the future.

  2017cites this paper
• Resilience of Mediterranean Forests to Climate Change

  2017influential citation
• The MIMOSE Approach to Support Sustainable Forest Management Planning at Regional Scale in Mediterranean Contexts

  2017cites this paper
• Resilience of Mediterranean Forests to Climate Change

  2017influential citation
• Factors affecting recent vegetation change in north-east Libya

  2017cites this paper
• RESILIENZA DELLE FORESTE MEDITERRANEE AI CAMBIAMENTI CLIMATICI RESILIENCE OF MEDITERRANEAN FORESTS TO CLIMATE CHANGE

  2017cites this paper
• Living and Dead Aboveground Biomass in Mediterranean Forests: Evidence of Old-Growth Traits in a Quercus pubescens Willd. s.l. Stand

  2017cites this paper
• Analysis and Prediction of Land Use Changes Related to Invasive Species and Major Driving Forces in the State of Connecticut

  2016cites this paper