Integrating Remote-Sensed and Historical Geodata to Assess Interactions Between Rural Buildings and Agroforestry Land

Cillis, Giuseppe; Statuto, Dina; Picuno, Pietro

doi:10.3846/jeelm.2021.15080

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…There are many techniques for quantifying agricultural plastic surfaces (APSs), but one of the most useful is spatial-data management provided by Geographic Information Systems (GIS). In particular, the use of satellite image classification exclusively or integrated with digital photointerpretation [24][25][26] is increasingly becoming the main component of rural land studies at the local level as well.…”

Section: Agricultural Plastic Surfaces (Aps) Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementing a GIS-Based Digital Atlas of Agricultural Plastics to Reduce Their Environmental Footprint; Part I: A Deductive Approach

et al. 2022

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The agricultural sector has benefitted over the last century from several factors that have led to an exponential increase in its productive efficiency. The increasing use of new materials, such as plastics, has been one of the most important factors, as they have allowed for increased production in a simpler and more economical way. Various polymer types are used in different phases of the agricultural production cycle, but when their use is incorrectly managed, it can lead to different environmental impacts. In this study, an applied and simplified methodology to manage agricultural plastics monitoring and planning is proposed. The techniques used are based on quantification through the use of different datasets (orthophotos and satellite images) of the areas covered by plastics used for crop protection. The study area chosen is a part of the Ionian Coast of Southern Italy, which includes the most important municipalities of the Basilicata Region for fruit and vegetable production. The use of geographical techniques and observation methodologies, developed in an open-source GIS environment, enabled accurate location of about 2000 hectares of agricultural land covered by plastics, as well as identification of the areas most susceptible to the accumulation of plastic waste. The techniques and the model implemented, due to its simplicity of use and reliability, can be applied by different local authorities in order to realize an Atlas of agricultural plastics, which would be applied for continuous monitoring, thereby enabling the upscaling of future social and ecological impact assessments, identification of new policy impacts, market searches, etc.

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Section: Agricultural Plastic Surfaces (Aps) Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementing a GIS-Based Digital Atlas of Agricultural Plastics to Reduce Their Environmental Footprint; Part I: A Deductive Approach

et al. 2022

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“…Figure 3 shows how the GIS approach serves these purposes, allowing different types of data from different databases to be put together. In fact, it has been possible to collect not only data on sheep tracks, but also the location of monuments, archaeological sites, historic rural buildings, nature zones and existing trails (Cillis et al, 2020) in the study area. The new GIS tools ensure that even people without high technical skills can carry out geographic analyses in a simple and immediate way.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fig. 1: Location of study area in Italy and Basilicata Region and location (in white) of old sheep tracks ("tratturi").The first part of the analysis has been based on the survey of the network of sheep-tracks in the Basilicata region (fig.2), achieved by using different cartographic sources, such as the open-source online geo-database "OpenStreetMap", joined with historical topographic maps(Cillis et al, 2021).The sheep-tracks were not treated as a linear datum, but as a polygonal one, so a polygon database was created to take into account the actual sheep-track location. The Basilicata Region made these data open to be accessed, so they can be used -both for scientific and planning purposes -providing that the source is cited.The delimitation of the sheep-track sites of cultural interest (Italian legislation -art.…”

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confidence: 99%

Valorization of an Old Sheep Trail as a New Opportunity for Sustainable Public Recreation: A Case Study in Southern Italy

Statuto¹,

Cillis²,

Picuno³

2023

Public Recreation and Landscape Protection - With Environment Hand in Hand?

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Within the valorization process of rural landscape for public recreation, an increasing interest is currently registered on ancient sheep-tracks. Indeed, these paths constitute the historical infrastructure of the transhumance system, that covered all over Europe thousands of kilometers, forming the routes of shepherds, merchants, warriors and pilgrims. In Italy, these tracks -known as "tratturi" -are landscape-bound, while the practice of transhumance has recently been included in the intangible UNESCO World Heritage. In addition to their cultural and scenic value, today some old sheep-tracks are being rediscovered as new rural hiking trails. However, they present some technical drawbacks, that make them barely usable by tourists for walking in the nature. Taking as a case study an old sheep-track connecting the two cities of Matera and Montescaglioso (Basilicata Region -Southern Italy), a GIS approach was applied, to evaluate the possibilities to use this path as an hiking trail, highlighting the difficulties to be solved for its valorization. The final results showed how, thanks to a GIS tool, it is possible to compare different types of data, from historical to modern ones, so relating the route with all elements of tourist interest, evaluating its potential for excursion purposes as well.

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“…Since the study area is small, it was not necessary to apply further transformations or assessments to improve the georeferencing result. In order to reduce it, a second-order polynomial was used to obtain a RMS value of about 20 m [52], which also allowed a visual accuracy assessment, validating the georeferencing [53].…”

Section: Orthophotosmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Manniello

Cillis

Statuto

et al. 2022

IJGI

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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.

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Integrating Remote-Sensed and Historical Geodata to Assess Interactions Between Rural Buildings and Agroforestry Land

Cited by 12 publications

References 53 publications

Implementing a GIS-Based Digital Atlas of Agricultural Plastics to Reduce Their Environmental Footprint; Part I: A Deductive Approach

Implementing a GIS-Based Digital Atlas of Agricultural Plastics to Reduce Their Environmental Footprint; Part I: A Deductive Approach

Valorization of an Old Sheep Trail as a New Opportunity for Sustainable Public Recreation: A Case Study in Southern Italy

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

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