Urbanization and Long-Term Forest Dynamics in a Metropolitan Region of Southern Europe (1936–2018)

Abstract

Although peri-urban landscapes in Southern Europe still preserve a relatively high level of biodiversity in relict natural places, urban expansion is progressively consuming agricultural land and, in some cases, forest cover. This phenomenon has (direct and indirect) environmental implications, both positive and negative. The present study contributes to clarifying the intrinsic nexus between long-term urban expansion and forest dynamics in a representative Mediterranean city based on diachronic land-use maps. We discuss some counterintuitive results of urbanization as far as forest expansion, wildfire risk, and biodiversity conservation are concerned. Forest dynamics were investigated at two time intervals (1936–1974 and 1974–2018) representing distinctive socioeconomic contexts in the Rome metropolitan area in Central Italy. Additionally, the spatial relationship between forest cover and urban growth was evaluated using settlement density as a target variable. All over the study area, forest cover grew moderately over time (from 18.3% to 19.9% in the total landscape), and decreased along the urban gradient (i.e., with settlement density) more rapidly in 2018 than in 1936. The diversification of forest types (Shannon H index) was higher in areas with medium-density settlements, indicating a tendency towards more heterogeneous and mixed structures in rural and peri-urban woods that undergo rising human pressure. The dominance of a given forest type (Simpson’s D index) was higher at high settlement density areas. Evenness (Pielou’s J index) was the highest at low settlement density areas. The long-term assessment of land-use dynamics in metropolitan fringes enriched with a spatially explicit analysis of forest types may inform regional planning and environmental conservation, which could delineate appropriate strategies for sustainable land management in Southern European cities.

Directions of land degradation in the greater Istanbul metropolitan area: A view from four decades

“…This trend is in line with similar patterns observed in several other cities in Europe (Belenok et al, 2022;Bianchini et al, 2021;Nickayin et al, 2021;Wnęk et al, 2021), America (Rees, 2016), Asia (Li & Cao, 2021;Santos & Zhang, 2021), and Africa (Güneralp et al, 2017).…”

“…Our research reveals a concerning trend of LD in Istanbul over the past four decades, predominantly driven by anthropogenic activities. This trend is in line with similar patterns observed in several other cities in Europe (Belenok et al, 2022; Bianchini et al, 2021; Nickayin et al, 2021; Wnęk et al, 2021), America (Rees, 2016), Asia (Li & Cao, 2021; Santos & Zhang, 2021), and Africa (Güneralp et al, 2017). The global scale of large‐city urbanization throughout the world in recent decades is shown by Sun et al (2020).…”

Historical Changes in Urban and Peri-Urban Forests: Evidence from the Galați Area, Romania

“…However, common elements were identified, especially with respect to the socio-environmental consequences driven by the (sub)urbanization processes that led to the abandonment of traditional cropland, forest diversity loss, land use/land cover changes, land degradation, or landscape transformation. These common elements were particularly similar to those found in studies carried out in Central and Eastern European countries [28,[104][105][106][107], but also in some Southern European countries [46,108,109].…”

Soil Compaction in Harvesting Operations of Phalaris arundinacea L.

“…This results in lower soil fertility, a loss of carbon and biodiversity, a lower capacity to hold water, disruption of gas and nutrient cycles, and less degradation of contaminants. Soil degradation has direct repercussions on water and air quality, biodiversity, and climate change, but it can also affect the health of European citizens and endanger the safety of products for human and animal consumption [4,5].…”