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.
Highlights
A landscape is a structural, perceptible and functional layout of an area that results from the complex interaction between its environmental and sociocultural assets
Forest harvesting was reduced by half, which is related to the depopulation of the common Sicilian rural area, represented by the seven selected sample areas
The study results mainly highlight two different trends observed in the studied areas: first, the strengthening and expansion of forests in many of the study areas (Etna, Sicani, Madonie and Pantelleria), and second, a clear reduction or degradation in the woodland area
Summary
A landscape is a structural, perceptible and functional layout of an area that results from the complex interaction between its environmental and sociocultural assets. Land use/land cover (LULC) change, as a consequence of the human influence on the landscape, derived from significant modifications in ecosystems at local, regional and global scales and has influenced global change [3,4,5], especially through its effects on temperature [6,7] and rainfall [8]. The entire Mediterranean basin is characterized by landscape patterns with compositions resulting from countless, long and complicated cultural and historical processes that developed in complex and varied environments [2,11,12]. Which is the largest island of the Mediterranean basin and the broader region of Italy (25,711 km2 ), is characterized by huge variability in geological, climatic and biological assets, and was subjected to hundreds of years of human activities carried out by various cultures and people that shaped the local landscapes and maintained extraordinary vegetal biodiversity
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
