The spatial nexus between population growth and land degradation in a dry Mediterranean region: a rapidly changing pattern?

A better understanding of the spatial linkage between the distribution of land vulnerable to degradation and long-term population growth may contribute to sustainable land management of dry regions. Such a nexus has received increasing attention among politicians and local stakeholders, as its complex outcomes depend on mutual interactions between socioeconomic and biophysical factors. This is particularly true in southern Europe, where important processes of land degradation (LD) have been observed in recent years. This paper analyses population growth (1871–2007) in southern Italy and questions its relationship with the level of land vulnerable to degradation. Results indicate that vulnerable lands were more likely associated with areas where population growth has determined environmental pressures on coastal areas and the neighbouring lowlands during 1950–1980. This pattern consolidated the socioeconomic polarisation between core and peripheral areas. Since the 1980s, however, southern Italy has experienced a phase of polycentric development, possibly determining a ‘decoupling’ between population density and land vulnerability to degradation. Population increased in moderately vulnerable areas but decreased in highly vulnerable areas. The policy implications of these results are discussed.     

Information technologies and the sharing of disaster knowledge: the critical role of professional culture

A comparative survey of a diverse sample of 96 US and Italian emergency management agencies shows that the diffusion of new information technologies (IT) has transformed disaster communications. Although these technologies permit access to and the dissemination of massive amounts of disaster information with unprecedented speed and efficiency, barriers rooted in the various professional cultures still hinder the sharing of disaster knowledge. To be effective the available IT must be attuned to the unique settings and professional cultures of the local emergency management communities. Findings show that available technology, context, professional culture and interaction are key factors that affect the knowledge transfer process. Cultural filters appear to influence emergency managers' perceptions of their own professional roles, their vision of the applicability of technology to social issues, and their perspective on the transferability of disaster knowledge. Four cultural approaches to the application of IT to disaster communications are defined: technocentric; geographic,; anthropocentric; and ecocentric.     

Soil Contribution to the Elemental Composition of Epiphytic Lichens (Tuscany, Central Italy)

Total concentrations of Al, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Pb, Sr, Ti, V and Zn in the epiphytic lichen Parmelia sulcata and superficial soils from 60 remote sampling sites in Tuscany (central Italy) were determined to evaluate the contribution of soil to the elemental composition of the lichen. The results showed that in the Mediterranean environment, the trace element content of unwashed lichen samples is greatly affected by soil contamination. However, despite the strong correlations between the concentrations of lithogene elements such as Al, Fe and Ti in P. sulcata, lichen levels of these elements were not at all linearly correlated with their concentrations in the soil, suggesting that dust contamination is highly variable and probably dependent on local site characteristics. All methods evaluated to minimize soil contamination indicated Cu, Pb and Zn as elements of atmospheric origin. However, while levels of Pb were similar to those reported for background areas, moderate pollution by Cu and Zn, probably from fertilizers used in agriculture, was revealed. For elements such as Cd and Mo, identified as atmophile, some uncertainty exists due to the fact that they are essential for lichen metabolism and accumulate intracellularly in lichens; they may therefore occur in soluble form in the lichen thallus.     

Human exposure to dioxins through diet in Italy

We have measured the content of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (together defined as “dioxins”) in 269 samples of food of animal origin collected through the regional veterinary services, covering the national territory. Quantification of the dioxins was accomplished by isotope dilution method, and toxic equivalents (TEQ) were calculated. The average daily food intake was obtained from two main sources: national data collected by the National Institute of Nutrition, and data from an ongoing cohort study on diet and cancer including 40, 000 Italian subjects.

The mean value of dioxins measured in food of animal origin was 0.144 ± 0.266 pg-TEQ/g (range: 0.003–1.655 pg-TEQ/g). Fish was the item with the highest content. The estimated intake of dioxins with main food items of animal origin is presented. The major contribution to dioxins intake with food comes from cow milk and fish consumption. These results are in agreement with what observed in studies conducted in other countries, such as Germany, Finland, Japan, Spain, and are below the limits set by the European legislation.     

Landslide Vulnerability Criteria: A Case Study from Umbria,Central Italy

Little is known about the vulnerability to landslides, despite landslides causing frequent and widespread damage to the population and the built-up environment in many areas of the world. Lack of information about vulnerability to landslides limits our ability to determine landslide risk. This paper provides information on the vulnerability of buildings and roads to landslides in Umbria, central Italy. Information on 103 landslides of the slide and slide-earth flow types that have resulted in damage to buildings and roads at 90 sites in Umbria is used to establish dependencies between the area of the landslide and the vulnerability to landslides. The dependencies obtained are applied in the hills surrounding the town of Collazzone, in central Umbria, an area for which a detailed landslide inventory map is available. By exploiting the landslide inventory and the established vulnerability curves, the geographical distribution of the vulnerability to landslides is mapped and statistics of the expected damage are calculated. Reliability and limits of the vulnerability thresholds and of the obtained vulnerability assessment are discussed.     

Culture and the environment in Italy

This essay evaluates the historical development and current background of human-environment relationships in Italy. The Italian landscape consists of very varied terrain, and periodically suffers from all kinds of natural hazard, especially earthquakes, landslides, floods, and accelerated soil erosion. Some measure of environmental conservation was achieved by the Etruscans and Romans, but the Classical period also marked the beginning of serious lowland waterlogging, malarial infestation, upland soil erosion, and deforestation, which all increased during the Middle Ages. From the Renaissance to the 18th century, there was a diffusion of planned landscapes and carefully managed estates; but by the 20th century, many rural areas could not support growing populations and much land was in need of improvement. Underdevelopment and latifundium agriculture increased the vulnerability to environmental hazards of the Mezzogiorno (Italian South), while the subsequent disappearance of the peasant culture seems not to have led to greatly improved conservation or land management. Poorly farmed or managed landscapes and poorly maintained historic towns have undergone some virtually irreversible degradation, especially with respect to landslides and earthquake damage. Elsewhere in Italy, unchecked urbanization, weak planning laws, and their inadequate enforcement have helped both to reduce environmental quality, by overdevelopment of valued landscapes, and to increase natural disaster vulnerability, by encouraging occupance of natural hazard zones. Although there are signs that the government is beginning to respond to the cumulative effect of environmental degradation, the measures are insufficient to reverse the overall trend toward decadence that characterizes human-land relationships in Italy.     

Diversity of epiphytic lichens and metal contents of Parmelia caperata thalli as monitors of air pollution in the town of Pistoia (c Italy)

The results of a biomonitoring survey carried out in the town of Pistoia (central Italy) using the biodiversity of epiphytic lichens and the accumulation of heavy metals in thalli of Parmelia caperata as indicators of air pollution are reported. Compared to previous surveys, the overall situation generally improved, with higher lichen diversity at most stations and lower metal concentrations in P. caperata thalli. However, the general picture according to a calibrated scale of environmental naturality/alteration was substantially negative, with about 87% of the study area classified as `altered' (including the lichen desert) or `semi-altered'. To explain this apparent contradiction, it has been suggested that lichen colonization is determined by declining SO₂ concentrations, while major injuries to lichen communities are caused by the constantly high levels of NO_X. In spite of the low levels of Pb measured in P. caperata thalli, vehicular traffic was excluded as the main source of atmospheric pollution. Domestic heating seems to be the main cause of changes in the diversity of epiphytic lichens in the study area.     

In-between regional disparities and spatial heterogeneity: a multivariate analysis of territorial divides in Italy

Processes such as economic polarization, social disparities and the asymmetric distribution of natural capital are becoming progressively more interlinked in developed countries and may reflect the uneven decline of the ‘centre-periphery’ model. The assessment of regional disparities and spatial heterogeneity in socioeconomic phenomena is a key issue in regional studies and takes advantage of the use of multi-domain frameworks and decision support systems. We performed an exploratory analysis of 133 indicators assessing seven thematic domains (demography/settlements, labour market, economic structure, quality of life, agriculture/rural development, landscape/water, environment/soil resources) with the aim of investigating regional disparities in Italy in the light of territorial changes driven by urbanization, industrial decentralization, agricultural intensification and land abandonment. The results of our study indicate that latitude, elevation and urban gradients have determined a complex spatial pattern in both socioeconomic and environmental variables in Italy. The proposed approach provides an overall assessment of the intensity of territorial disparities on a regional scale for each thematic domain, and of intra-region spatial heterogeneity for each indicator, representing a decision-making tool for policies targeting a sustainable and spatially balanced development.     

Analysis of Damaging Hydrogeological Events: The Case of the Calabria Region (Southern Italy)

A period of bad weather conditions due to prolonged intense rainfall and strong winds can trigger landslides, floods, secondary floods (accumulation of rain on surfaces with low permeability), and sea storms, causing damage to humans and infrastructure. As a whole, these periods of bad weather and triggered phenomena can be defined as damaging hydrogeological events (DHEs). We define a methodological approach based on seven simple indexes to analyze such events. The indexes describe the return period (T) and trend of rainfall, the extent of hit areas, and the level of damages; they can be considered attributes of georeferenced features and analyzed with GIS techniques. We tested our method in an Italian region frequently hit by DHEs. In a period of 10 years, 747 damaging phenomena (landslides, 43%; floods, 38%) and 94 DHEs have been classified. The road network and housing areas are the most frequently damaged elements, threatened by all types of damaging phenomena. T classes are almost in accordance with the level of damage. These results can be used to outline warning levels for civil protection purposes, to forecast the areas most likely to be hit and the potential ensuing damage, to disseminate information concerning vulnerable areas, and to increase people’s awareness of risk.     

Evaluation of data quality in lichen biomonitoring studies: the Italian experience

A total of 65 operators involved in lichen mapping studies in central and northwestern Italy underwent quality control tests during five lichen biomonitoring workshops organized between 1999and 2000. The results showed that 75% quantitative accuracy and90% quantitative precision can be regarded as satisfactory levels for lichen biodiversity data; 65% proved to be sufficientfor accuracy of taxonomic identification in the field. Average correct assignment of the interpretative naturality/alteration class was only 48.7%. The results indicated the need for taxonomic training.