The natural areas of Rome Province detected by airborne remotely sensed data

Abstract

Rome Province with its 4 million inhabitants is one of the Italians areas with the largest urban expansion, mainly concentrated around the capital city. The uncontrolled urbanization of the past has heavily marked the landscape, especially Rome countryside and coastline. However many zones have exceeded the anthropic pressurewithout serious consequence since the sensitivity towards environmental protection has grown in recent years. Rome Province Administration has devoted special attention to the improvement and protection of its naturalistic heritage by means of a series of administrative actions, cultural initiatives and projects for environmental education. In this perspective a three-year agreement was concluded with CNR LARA focused on the study of natural vegetation by means of MIVIS (Multispectral Infrared Visible Imaging Spectrometer) remotely sensed data. This study distinguished and mapped the most important natural forests, shrub and herbaceous formations, assessed the health conditions of the arboreal vegetation, identified the areas with little water supply, and measured some environmental parameters, like temperature and surface humidity. The results achieved highlight the large botanical and naturalistic assortment and the complexity of the study-area.