Ecosystem classification and mapping: a proposal for Italian landscapes

Abstract

Abstract. This paper deals with the development of a hierarchical land classification for describing and mapping landscapes at different scales. After a brief overview of the theoretical background, an integrative framework is proposed which incorporates different hierarchical levels from plant sociology as diagnostic attributes. The feasibility of this proposal has been tested in different sample landscapes in central Italy. This system has a potential for applications to Italian landscapes from national to local scales, because it is based on solid theory and on information which is generally available in Italy.

Map of changes in landscape naturalness in the Fiastra and Salino catchment basins (central Italy)

“…The landscape classification method proposed by Blasi et al (2000) for describing and mapping Italian landscape at different scales was used for hierarchical interpretation of the study area. This approach was conceived as a system in which pattern and function at each scale level depend on the constraints imposed by the higher levels.…”

“…Within this process, each element can be interpreted as part of a higher element or as a structure containing systems of lower rank (Farina, 2001). Thus, the multidimensional complexity of ecological systems can be broken down into many organizational levels, each containing only a small number of interacting factors, in which mutual relationships and links between the highest and lowest organizational levels can be modelled (Tainton, Morris, & Hardy, 1996), making possible the spatial definition of the ecosystem units through a hierarchical approach (Blasi, Carranza, Frondoni, & Rosati, 2000). In this context, application of methods and concepts of serial and catenal phytosociology (Géhu et al, 1991;Ozenda, 1982;Rivas-Martínez, 2005b) is useful, since they are based on hierarchical definition and classification of plant communities and landscapes.…”

Effects of Disturbance on Sandy Coastal Ecosystems of N-Adriatic Coasts (Italy)

“…Ecosystem classification set up on the hierarchical concept can thus provide interconnected spatial units with different potential purposes, depending on the scale of the problems under investigation and the requisite precision of the results . Blasi et al (2000; have recently proposed a hierarchical framework designed for describing and mapping Italian landscapes at different levels. It is a deductive and spatial explicit method based on the homogeneity of the physical environment aiming at defining land units with different vegetation potential (Blasi & Frondoni, 2011).…”

Forest ecosystems functionality evaluation by multiscale and multitemporal analysis of ecological network

“…The potential vegetation naturalness of forests categories was calculated by contrasting forest/land use maps (the real condition for the model) with the PNV map. The ecological distance between real and PNV (the optimum conditions for the model) was based on the application of the phytosociological hierarchical system approach (Blasi et al, 2000). In the resulting combination map, a value of 1 (high potential naturalness) was assigned to pixels of forest category falling in the PNV map category, and a value of 0 (low potential naturalness) to pixel not falling in the PNV map category and belonging to no-forest land use categories (e.g.…”