Soil is brown gold in the Emilia-Romagna region, Italy
Soil is a natural resource essential to human welfare by virtue of its numerous crucial functions. In the past, soil has been taken for granted because of its widespread, albeit finite, availability. However, now that world's population is projected to exceed ten billion before the end of this century, soil is increasingly perceived as a precious commodity. Consequently, soil is increasingly under pressure by rich private investors and governments within the poorest countries to satisfy appetites for food production and biofuel. A case study is used to explore the plausibility of soil being considered as ‘brown gold’. Based on the comparison of land use maps, we estimated the value in terms…
Influence of 150 Years of Land Use on Anthropogenic and Natural Carbon Stocks in Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy)
Changes in land use/cover that are commonly associated with urbanization can dramatically influence the amount, chemical form, and spatial distribution of carbon (C) stocks. Measured values and relative literature for composition of natural and anthropogenic materials have been compiled. These data are used in conjunction with land cover statistics and expert assessment of building design to calculate C stocks associated with 150 years of land use change and development for an area of the Po River Valley, Northern Italy. Using 4 time periods (1853, 1954, 1976, and 2003), we demonstrate that the C stocks within this densely populated area have undergone considerable modification. A 52% incre…
Multitemporal mapping of peri-urban carbon stocks and soil sealing from satellite data.
Abstract Peri-urbanisation is the expansion of compact urban areas towards low-density settlements. This phenomenon directly challenges the agricultural landscape multifunctionality, including its carbon (C) storage capacity. Using satellite data, we mapped peri-urban C stocks in soil and built-up surfaces over three areas from 1993 to 2014 in the Emilia-Romagna region, Italy: a thinly populated area around Piacenza, an intermediate-density area covering the Reggio Emilia-Modena conurbation and a densely anthropized area developing along the coast of Rimini. Satellite-derived maps enabled the quantitative analysis of spatial and temporal features of urban growth and soil sealing, expressed …
Anthropogenic carbon stocks analysis in sparsely urbanized areas using remote sensing: a case study
Anthropogenic carbon stocks in urbanized areas is a topic of growing importance at both local and regional scale nowadays, but its assessment is subjects to difficulties due to lack of data and spatial heterogeneity of the target. Remote sensing of urban areas has demonstrated its usefulness in assessing phenomena such as soil sealing and surface imperviousness, which are considered to be effective indicators of urbanization. This work presents a preliminary study of mid resolution satellite data capabilities in providing information about anthropogenic carbon stocks over the area of Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. This has been done through a dual approach consisting of: (1) a dir…
Carbon Stocks in Peri-Urban Areas: A Case Study of Remote Sensing Capabilities
Peri-urban areas are the extension of cities into contiguous areas, where households and farms coexist. Carbon stocks (CSs) assessment, a concept here extended to urban features, has not yet been studied in depth over peri-urban areas due to uncertainties in such CSs quantification, level of detail required about construction materials, and the high spatial variability of those stocks. Remote sensing (RS)-based techniques have been successfully utilized in urban areas for assessing phenomena such as soil sealing, sprawl patterns, and dynamics of surface imperviousness, especially focusing on land cover classification at high to medium spatial scales. Over the floodplain study area of Emilia…