Holocene coastal dune development and environmental changes in Apulia (southern Italy)

Vegetation mapping, identifying the type and distribution of plant species, is important for analysing vegetation dynamics, quantifying spatial patterns of vegetation evolution, analysing the effects of environmental changes and predicting spatial patterns of species diversity. Such analysis can contribute to the development of targeted land management actions that maintain biodiversity and ecological functions. This paper presents a methodology for 3D vegetation mapping of a coastal dune complex using a multispectral camera mounted on an unmanned aerial system with particular reference to the Buckroney dune complex in Co. Wicklow, Ireland. Unmanned aerial systems (UAS), also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or drones, have enabled high-resolution and high-accuracy ground-based data to be gathered quickly and easily on-site. The Sequoia multispectral sensor used in this study has green, red, red edge and near-infrared wavebands, and a regular camer with red, green and blue wavebands (RGB camera), to capture both visible and near-infrared (NIR) imagery of the land surface. The workflow of 3D vegetation mapping of the study site included establishing coordinated ground control points, planning the flight mission and camera parameters, acquiring the imagery, processing the image data and performing features classification. The data processing outcomes included an orthomosaic model, a 3D surface model and multispectral imagery of the study site, in the Irish Transverse Mercator (ITM) coordinate system. The planimetric resolution of the RGB sensor-based outcomes was 0.024 m while multispectral sensor-based outcomes had a planimetric resolution of 0.096 m. High-resolution vegetation mapping was successfully generated from these data processing outcomes. There were 235 sample areas (1 m × 1 m) used for the accuracy assessment of the classification of the vegetation mapping. Feature classification was conducted using nine different classification strategies to examine the efficiency of multispectral sensor data for vegetation and contiguous land cover mapping. The nine classification strategies included combinations of spectral bands and vegetation indices. Results show classification accuracies, based on the nine different classification strategies, ranging from 52% to 75%.

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Hominin responses to environmental changes during the Middle Pleistocene in central and southern Italy

Climate of the Past ◽

10.5194/cp-9-687-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 687-697 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

R. Orain ◽

V. Lebreton ◽

E. Russo Ermolli ◽

A.-M. Sémah ◽

S. Nomade ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Western Europe ◽

Southern Italy ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Global Climate ◽

Middle Pleistocene ◽

Faunal Remains ◽

Vegetation Dynamic ◽

Local Climate ◽

Global Climate Changes

Abstract. The palaeobotanical record of early Palaeolithic sites from Western Europe indicates that hominins settled in different kinds of environments. During the "mid-Pleistocene transition (MPT)", from about 1 to 0.6 Ma, the transition from 41- to 100-ka dominant climatic oscillations, occurring within a long-term cooling trend, was associated with an aridity crisis which strongly modified the ecosystems. Starting from the MPT the more favourable climate of central and southern Italy provided propitious environmental conditions for long-term human occupations even during the glacial times. In fact, the human strategy of territory occupation was certainly driven by the availabilities of resources. Prehistoric sites such as Notarchirico (ca. 680–600 ka), La Pineta (ca. 600–620 ka), Guado San Nicola (ca. 380–350 ka) or Ceprano (ca. 345–355 ka) testify to a preferential occupation of the central and southern Apennines valleys during interglacial phases, while later interglacial occupations were oriented towards the coastal plains, as attested by the numerous settlements of the Roma Basin (ca. 300 ka). Faunal remains indicate that human subsistence behaviours benefited from a diversity of exploitable ecosystems, from semi-open to closed environments. In central and southern Italy, several palynological records have already illustrated the regional- and local-scale vegetation dynamic trends. During the Middle Pleistocene climate cycles, mixed mesophytic forests developed during the interglacial periods and withdrew in response to increasing aridity during the glacial episodes. New pollen data from the Boiano Basin (Molise, Italy) attest to the evolution of vegetation and climate between MIS 13 and 9 (ca. 500 to 300 ka). In this basin the persistence of high edaphic humidity, even during the glacial phases, could have favoured the establishment of a refuge area for the arboreal flora and provided subsistence resources for the animal and hominin communities during the Middle Pleistocene. This could have constrained human groups to migrate into such a propitious area. Regarding the local climate evolution during the glacial episodes, the supposed displacement from these sites could be linked to the environmental dynamics solely due to the aridity increase, rather than directly to the global climate changes.

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Holocene environmental changes in the coastal Tavoliere Plain (Apulia, southern Italy): A multiproxy approach

Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology ◽

10.1016/j.palaeo.2011.06.012 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 310 (3-4) ◽

pp. 139-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Federico Di Rita ◽

Oronzo Simone ◽

Massimo Caldara ◽

W. Roland Gehrels ◽

Donatella Magri

Keyword(s):

Southern Italy ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Multiproxy Approach

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Environmental changes in man-made coastal dune pools since 1850 as indicated by sedimentary and epiphytic diatom assemblages (Belgium)

Aquatic Conservation Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

10.1002/aqc.581 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 191-211 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Luc Denys

Keyword(s):

Environmental Changes ◽

Coastal Dune ◽

Diatom Assemblages

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Clues to the identification of a seismogenic source from environmental effects: the case of the 1905 Calabria (Southern Italy) earthquake

Natural Hazards and Earth System Science ◽

10.5194/nhess-9-1787-2009 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

pp. 1787-1803 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

A. Tertulliani ◽

L. Cucci

Keyword(s):

Environmental Effects ◽

Southern Italy ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Source Parameters ◽

Normal Fault ◽

Rock Falls ◽

Offshore Area ◽

Hydrological Changes ◽

Seismogenic Source ◽

Ground Effects

Abstract. The 8 September 1905 Calabria (Southern Italy) earthquake belongs to a peculiar family of highly destructive (I0=XI) seismic events, occurred at the dawning of the instrumental seismology, for which the location, geometry and size of the causative source are still substantially unconstrained. During the century elapsed since the earthquake, previous Authors identified three different epicenters that are more than 50 km apart and proposed magnitudes ranging from M≤6.2 to M=7.9. Even larger uncertainties were found when the geometry of the earthquake source was estimated. In this study, we constrain the magnitude, location and kinematics of the 1905 earthquake through the analysis of the remarkable environmental effects produced by the event (117 reviewed observations at 73 different localities throughout Calabria). The data used in our analysis include ground effects (landslides, rock falls and lateral spreads) and hydrological changes (streamflow variations, liquefaction, rise of water temperature and turbidity). To better define the magnitude of the event we use a number of empirical relations between seismic source parameters and distribution of ground effects and hydrological changes. In order to provide constraints to the location of the event and to the geometry of the source, we reproduce the coseismic static strain associated with different possible 1905 causative faults and compare its pattern to the documented streamflow changes. From the analysis of the seismically-induced environmental changes we find that: 1) the 1905 earthquake had a minimum magnitude M=6.7; 2) the event occurred in an offshore area west of the epicenters proposed by the historical seismic Catalogs; 3) it most likely occurred along a 100° N oriented normal fault with a left-lateral component, consistently with the seismotectonic setting of the area.

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The History of Pastoral Activities in S Italy Inferred from Palynology: A Long-Term Perspective to Support Biodiversity Awareness

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11020404 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 404 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Assunta Florenzano

Keyword(s):

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Southern Italy ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Coprophilous Fungi ◽

Human Environment ◽

The Holocene ◽

Mediterranean Habitats ◽

15Th Century ◽

The Impact

The present-day Mediterranean landscape is a result of the long-term human–environment–climate interactions that have driven the ecological dynamics throughout the Holocene. Pastoralism had (and still has) an important role in shaping this landscape, and contributes to maintaining the mosaic patterns of the Mediterranean habitats. Palaeoecological records provide significant multi-proxy data on environmental changes during the Holocene that are linked to human activities. In such research, the palynological approach is especially useful for detailing the complexity of anthropogenically-driven landscape transformations by discriminating past land uses and pastoral/breeding activities. This paper focuses on the palynological evidence for the impact of centuries of grazing on the vegetation of Basilicata, a region of southern Italy where animal breeding and pastoralism have a long tradition. A set of 121 pollen samples from eight archaeological sites (dated from the 6th century BC to the 15th century AD) and five modern surface soil samples were analyzed. The joint record of pollen pasture indicators and spores of coprophilous fungi suggests that continuous and intense pastoral activities have been practiced in the territory and have highly influenced its landscape. The palaeoecological results of this study provide us with better knowledge of the diachronical transformations of the habitats that were exposed to continuous grazing, with a shift toward more open vegetation and increase of sclerophyllous shrubs. The palynological approach gives insights into the vocation and environmental sustainability of this southern Italy region on a long-term basis.

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Hominin responses to environmental changes during the Middle Pleistocene in Central and Southern Italy

Climate of the Past Discussions ◽

10.5194/cpd-8-5181-2012 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 8 (5) ◽

pp. 5181-5207 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R. Orain ◽

V. Lebreton ◽

E. Russo Ermolli ◽

A.-M. Sémah ◽

S. Nomade ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Western Europe ◽

Southern Italy ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Global Climate ◽

Middle Pleistocene ◽

Faunal Remains ◽

Vegetation Dynamic ◽

Local Climate ◽

Global Climate Changes

Abstract. The palaeobotanical record of early Palaeolithic sites from Western Europe indicates that hominins settled in different kinds of environments. During the "Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT)", from about 1 to 0.6 Ma, the transition from 41-ka to 100-ka dominant climatic oscillations, occurring within a long-term cooling trend, was associated with an aridity crisis which strongly modified the ecosystems. Starting from the MPT the more favorable climate of central and southern Italy provided propitious environmental conditions for long-term human occupations even during the glacial times. In fact, the human strategy of territory occupation was certainly driven by the availabilities of resources. Prehistoric sites such as Notarchirico (ca. 680–600 ka), La Pineta (ca. 600–620 ka), Gaudo San Nicola (ca. 380–350 ka) or Ceprano (ca. 345–355 ka) testify to a preferential occupation of the central and southern Apennines valleys during interglacial phases, while later interglacial occupations were oriented towards the coastal plains, as attested by the numerous settlements of the Roma basin (ca. 300 ka). Faunal remains indicate that human subsistence behaviors benefited of a diversity of exploitable ecosystems, from semi-open to closed environments. In central and southern Italy, several palynological records have already illustrated the regional and local scale vegetation dynamic trends. During the Middle Pleistocene climate cycles, mixed mesophytic forests developed during the interglacial periods and withdrew in response to increasing aridity during the glacial episodes. New pollen data from the Boiano basin (Molise, Italy), attest to the evolution of vegetation and climate between OIS 13 and 9 (ca. 500 to 300 ka). In this basin, the persistence of high edaphic humidity, even during the glacial phases, could have favored the establishment of a refuge area for the arboreal flora and provided subsistence resources for the animal and hominin communities during the Middle Pleistocene. This could have constrained human groups to migrate into such a propitious area. Regarding to the local climate evolution during the glacial episodes, the supposed displacement from these sites could be linked to the environmental dynamics solely due to the aridity increase rather than directly to the global climate changes.

Download Full-text