GIScience and Historical Cartography for Evaluating Land Use Changes and Resulting Effects on Carbon Balance

Canio Manniello,Andrea Di Pasquale,Giuseppe Cillis,Dina Statuto,Pietro Picuno

doi:10.3390/ijgi11030179

Canio Manniello, Andrea Di Pasquale + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi11030179

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Abstract

Multi-chronological examination of territory using GIScience and historical cartography may reveal a strategic tool for investigating changes in land use and the surrounding landscape structure. In this framework, the soil plays a key role in ecosystem evolution, since it governs all the mechanisms at the basis of vegetal growth, as well as all components of the total environment contributing to the formation of a rural landscape, including the balance of carbon dioxide. The present study was developed using a GIS approach applied to historical maps and aims to assess the environmental impact of land-use change, with particular attention to its effects on agricultural soil and atmospheric carbon dioxide balance. Thanks to a comparison between historical cartographic maps of different periods, this geospatial approach has enabled the assessment of the evolution of the rural land of the study area in the municipality of Ruoti (Basilicata Region—Southern Italy). This area, indeed, has been affected by deep land-use transformations, mainly caused by agricultural activities, with a resulting impact on the atmospheric CO2 balance. These transformations have been analyzed and quantified in order to contribute to the understanding on how the changes in land use for agricultural purposes have led to unforeseen changes in the rural landscape, ecosystems and the environment. The results showed that the greatest changes in land use were caused by the abandonment of large rural areas, resulting in the expansion of urban areas, a decrease in orchard and arable land (about less 25%), and an increase in woodland (more than 30%). These changes have resulted in a doubling in soil carbon fixation value. The final results have therefore confirmed that historical cartography within a GIS approach may decisively offer information useful for more sustainable agricultural activities, so as to reduce their negative contribution to climate change.

Highlights

The natural dynamics that have followed one another slowly over millions of years onEarth have triggered processes and phenomena that have been the basis of the evolution of different habitats and living organisms
This natural balance has been strongly compromised by anthropogenic activity [1]. Scientists speak of these last two centuries as the Anthropocene period, in which human beings have interfered with the slow natural dynamics, causing often irreversible changes to natural ecosystems and environment [1], alterations that can be experienced in all the different terrestrial environments
The study area is part of the municipality of Ruoti (Figure 1), located in the central–western part of the Basilicata region in southern Italy (40◦ 430 05.4300 N, 15◦ 400 32.1200 E), and the study area is bounded by the perimeter of the historical cartography of 1848 taken as a reference and is an area of strong interest and attention from regional and Italian planners

Summary

Introduction

The natural dynamics that have followed one another slowly over millions of years onEarth have triggered processes and phenomena that have been the basis of the evolution of different habitats and living organisms. Scientists speak of these last two centuries as the Anthropocene period, in which human beings have interfered with the slow natural dynamics, causing often irreversible changes to natural ecosystems and environment [1], alterations that can be experienced in all the different terrestrial environments. These phenomena, are only being addressed with interest, but the lack of concrete activities of sustainable development and detailed knowledge of the impacts at the local level represent a further slowdown to the trigger processes of environmental and ecological reconstruction [2]. A detailed analysis of the changes carried out and the global monitoring of all ecosystems is necessary in order to propose appropriate environmental protection policies [4] aimed at reusing resources in the framework of a circular economy approach [5]

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