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The long-term impact of demographic transitions on the spatial distribution of human settlements was occasionally evaluated in Europe. Assuming the distinctive role of urban–rural divides, our study investigates local-scale population trends (1861–2017) in Southern Italy, a disadvantaged region of Mediterranean Europe, as a result of long-term socioeconomic transformations. A quantitative analysis of municipal-scale population data based on descriptive and exploratory multivariate statistics, mapping, inferential approaches, and regression models identified four time intervals with distinctive demographic dynamics: (i) a spatially homogeneous population growth between 1861 and 1911, (ii) a moderate population increase rebalancing a traditional divide in coastal and internal areas (1911–1951), (iii) accelerated population growth enlarging spatial divides in urban and rural districts (1951–1981), and (iv) population stability (or slight decline) leading to heterogeneous demographic patterns since the early 1980s. The first three stages reflect a prolonged transition from high fertility and mortality to high fertility and low mortality, with accelerated population growth typical of the latest stage of the first demographic transition. Outcomes of time interval (iv) reflect the early stages of the second demographic transition, with lowest-low fertility and rising life expectancy. While the first transition reflected spatially homogeneous population trends along a considerable time spam, the second transition has been associated with heterogeneous (leapfrog) demographic patterns as a result of socially mixed (and spatially) fragmented dynamics of growth and change.
Rosanna Salvia; Luca Salvati; Giovanni Quaranta. Beyond the Transition: Long-Term Population Trends in a Disadvantaged Region of Southern Europe, 1861–2017. Sustainability 2021, 13, 6636 .
AMA StyleRosanna Salvia, Luca Salvati, Giovanni Quaranta. Beyond the Transition: Long-Term Population Trends in a Disadvantaged Region of Southern Europe, 1861–2017. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (12):6636.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRosanna Salvia; Luca Salvati; Giovanni Quaranta. 2021. "Beyond the Transition: Long-Term Population Trends in a Disadvantaged Region of Southern Europe, 1861–2017." Sustainability 13, no. 12: 6636.
Climate change leverages landscape transformations and exerts variable pressure on natural environments and rural systems. Earlier studies outlined how Mediterranean Europe has become a global hotspot of climate warming and land use change. The present work assumes the olive tree, a typical Mediterranean crop, as a candidate bioclimatic indicator, delineating the latent impact of climate aridity on traditional cropping systems at the northern range of the biogeographical distribution of the olive tree. Since the olive tree follows a well-defined latitude gradient with a progressive decline in both frequency and density moving toward the north, we considered Italy as an appropriate case to investigate how climate change may (directly or indirectly) influence the spatial distribution of this crop. By adopting an exploratory approach grounded in the quali-quantitative analysis of official statistics, the present study investigates long-term changes over time in the spatial distribution of the olive tree surface area in Northern Italy, a region traditionally considered outside the ecological range of the species because of unsuitable climate conditions. Olive tree cultivated areas increased in Northern Italy, especially in flat districts and upland areas, while they decreased in Central and Southern Italy under optimal climate conditions, mostly because of land abandonment. The most intense expansion of the olive tree surface area in Italy was observed in the northern region between 1992 and 2000 and corresponded with the intensification of winter droughts during the late 1980s and the early 1990s and local warming since the mid-1980s. Assuming the intrinsic role of farmers in the expansion of the olive tree into the suboptimal land of Northern Italy, the empirical results of our study suggest how climate aridity and local warming may underlie the shift toward the north in the geographical range of the olive tree in the Mediterranean Basin. We finally discussed the implications of the olive range shift as a part of a possible landscape scenario for a more arid future.
Jesús Rodrigo-Comino; Rosanna Salvia; Giovanni Quaranta; Pavel Cudlín; Luca Salvati; Antonio Gimenez-Morera. Climate Aridity and the Geographical Shift of Olive Trees in a Mediterranean Northern Region. Climate 2021, 9, 64 .
AMA StyleJesús Rodrigo-Comino, Rosanna Salvia, Giovanni Quaranta, Pavel Cudlín, Luca Salvati, Antonio Gimenez-Morera. Climate Aridity and the Geographical Shift of Olive Trees in a Mediterranean Northern Region. Climate. 2021; 9 (4):64.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJesús Rodrigo-Comino; Rosanna Salvia; Giovanni Quaranta; Pavel Cudlín; Luca Salvati; Antonio Gimenez-Morera. 2021. "Climate Aridity and the Geographical Shift of Olive Trees in a Mediterranean Northern Region." Climate 9, no. 4: 64.
This study investigates long-term landscape transformations (1949–2016) in urban Rome, Central Italy, through a spatial distribution of seven metrics (core, islet, perforation, edge, loop, bridge, branch) derived from a Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA) analyzed separately for seven land-use classes (built-up areas, arable land, crop mosaic, vineyards, olive groves, forests, pastures). A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) has been finally adopted to characterize landscape structure at 1949 and 2016. Results of the MSPA demonstrate how both natural and agricultural land-uses have decreased following urban expansion. Moreover, the percent ‘core’ area of each class declined substantially, although with different intensity. These results clearly indicate ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ after long-term landscape transformations: urban settlements and forests belong to the former category, the remaining land-use classes (mostly agricultural) belong to the latter category. Descriptive statistics and multivariate exploratory techniques finally documented the intrinsic complexity characteristic of actual landscapes. The findings of this study also demonstrate how settlements have expanded chaotically over the study area, reflecting a progressive ‘fractalization’ and inhomogeneity of fringe landscapes, with negative implications for metropolitan sustainability at large. These transformations were unable to leverage processes of settlement and economic re-agglomeration around sub-centers typical of polycentric development in the most advanced socioeconomic contexts.
Samaneh Nickayin; Luca Salvati; Rosa Coluzzi; Maria Lanfredi; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Rosanna Salvia; Giovanni Quaranta; Ahmed Alhuseen; Luisa Gaburova. What Happens in the City When Long-Term Urban Expansion and (Un)Sustainable Fringe Development Occur: The Case Study of Rome. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 2021, 10, 231 .
AMA StyleSamaneh Nickayin, Luca Salvati, Rosa Coluzzi, Maria Lanfredi, Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Rosanna Salvia, Giovanni Quaranta, Ahmed Alhuseen, Luisa Gaburova. What Happens in the City When Long-Term Urban Expansion and (Un)Sustainable Fringe Development Occur: The Case Study of Rome. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information. 2021; 10 (4):231.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSamaneh Nickayin; Luca Salvati; Rosa Coluzzi; Maria Lanfredi; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Rosanna Salvia; Giovanni Quaranta; Ahmed Alhuseen; Luisa Gaburova. 2021. "What Happens in the City When Long-Term Urban Expansion and (Un)Sustainable Fringe Development Occur: The Case Study of Rome." ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 10, no. 4: 231.
This work provides a multi-scale, multi-temporal assessment of the robustness of 6 indicators of land degradation aggregated at various spatial domains relevant to environmental reporting. Based on the Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) approach – widely used for environmental reporting of land degradation in Europe – we tested six indicators including (i) the average ESA score, (ii) the maximum ESA score, (iii) the coefficient of variation in the ESA scores, (iv) the normalized range in the ESA scores, as well as the extent of (v) ‘fragile’ and (vi) ‘critical’ areas based on a standard land classification developed on behalf of the ESA framework. Statistical robustness and intrinsic stability of these indicators were verified at six spatial domains (administrative regions, provinces, elevation belts, homogeneous economic districts, rural districts, municipalities) separately for three time points (early-1960s, early-1990s, and early-2010s). Results of a mixed parametric/non-parametric correlation analysis indicate that pair-wise relationships between indicators were mostly linear. A Principal Component Analysis identified two non-redundant dimensions associated with the average level of land degradation sensitivity and its intrinsic variability over space; indicators resulted to be associated exclusively with one of these two dimensions for all study years. Average level of sensitivity and variability over space provide, together, a comprehensive and statistically robust assessment of land degradation at vastly different planning levels, irrespective of the territorial domain adopted for environmental reporting.
Samaneh Sadat Nickayin; Giovanni Quaranta; Rosanna Salvia; Sirio Cividino; Pavel Cudlin; Luca Salvati. Reporting land degradation sensitivity through multiple indicators: Does scale matter? Ecological Indicators 2021, 125, 107560 .
AMA StyleSamaneh Sadat Nickayin, Giovanni Quaranta, Rosanna Salvia, Sirio Cividino, Pavel Cudlin, Luca Salvati. Reporting land degradation sensitivity through multiple indicators: Does scale matter? Ecological Indicators. 2021; 125 ():107560.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSamaneh Sadat Nickayin; Giovanni Quaranta; Rosanna Salvia; Sirio Cividino; Pavel Cudlin; Luca Salvati. 2021. "Reporting land degradation sensitivity through multiple indicators: Does scale matter?" Ecological Indicators 125, no. : 107560.
Diachronic variations in demographic rates have frequently reflected social transformations and a (more or less evident) impact of sequential economic downturns. By assessing changes over time in Total Fertility Rate (TFR) at the regional scale in Italy, our study investigates the long-term transition (1952–2019) characteristic of Mediterranean fertility, showing a continuous decline of births since the late 1970s and marked disparities between high- and low-fertility regions along the latitude gradient. Together with a rapid decline in the country TFR, the spatiotemporal evolution of regional fertility in Italy—illustrated through an exploratory time series statistical approach—outlines the marked divide between (wealthier) Northern regions and (economically disadvantaged) Southern regions. Non-linear fertility trends and increasing spatial heterogeneity in more recent times indicate the role of individual behaviors leveraging a generalized decline in marriage and childbearing propensity. Assuming differential responses of regional fertility to changing socioeconomic contexts, these trends are more evident in Southern Italy than in Northern Italy. Reasons at the base of such fertility patterns were extensively discussed focusing—among others—on the distinctive contribution of internal and international migrations to regional fertility rates. Based on these findings, Southern Italy, an economically disadvantaged, peripheral region in Mediterranean Europe, is taken as a paradigmatic case of demographic shrinkage—whose causes and consequences can be generalized to wider contexts in (and outside) Europe.
Jesus Rodrigo-Comino; Gianluca Egidi; Luca Salvati; Giovanni Quaranta; Rosanna Salvia; Antonio Gimenez-Morera. High-to-Low (Regional) Fertility Transitions in a Peripheral European Country: The Contribution of Exploratory Time Series Analysis. Data 2021, 6, 19 .
AMA StyleJesus Rodrigo-Comino, Gianluca Egidi, Luca Salvati, Giovanni Quaranta, Rosanna Salvia, Antonio Gimenez-Morera. High-to-Low (Regional) Fertility Transitions in a Peripheral European Country: The Contribution of Exploratory Time Series Analysis. Data. 2021; 6 (2):19.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJesus Rodrigo-Comino; Gianluca Egidi; Luca Salvati; Giovanni Quaranta; Rosanna Salvia; Antonio Gimenez-Morera. 2021. "High-to-Low (Regional) Fertility Transitions in a Peripheral European Country: The Contribution of Exploratory Time Series Analysis." Data 6, no. 2: 19.
Soil loss and peri-urban settlement expansion are key issues in urban sustainability, with multi-disciplinary implications that go beyond individual ecological and socioeconomic dimensions. Our study illustrates an assessment framework diachronically evaluating urbanization-driven soil quality loss in a Southern European metropolitan region (Athens, Greece). We tested the assumption that urban growth is a process consuming high-quality soils in a selective way analyzing two spatial layers, a map illustrating the diachronic expansion of settlements at five time points (1948, 1975, 1990, 2000, and 2018), and a geo-database reporting basic soil properties. The empirical results showed that the urban expansion in the Athens region took place by consuming higher- quality soil in fertile, mostly flat, districts. It entailed a persistent soil quality decrease over time. This trend globally accelerated in recent years, but in a heterogeneous way. Actually, newly built, more compact areas expanded on soils with lower erosion risk than in the past. Besides, low-density land take is likely to be observed in soils with moderate-high or very-high qualities. These evidences reflect the need for a comprehensive evaluation of complex processes of land take informing spatial planning for metropolitan sustainability.
Samaneh Nickayin; Francesca Perrone; Barbara Ermini; Giovanni Quaranta; Rosanna Salvia; Filippo Gambella; Gianluca Egidi. Soil Quality and Peri-Urban Expansion of Cities: A Mediterranean Experience (Athens, Greece). Sustainability 2021, 13, 2042 .
AMA StyleSamaneh Nickayin, Francesca Perrone, Barbara Ermini, Giovanni Quaranta, Rosanna Salvia, Filippo Gambella, Gianluca Egidi. Soil Quality and Peri-Urban Expansion of Cities: A Mediterranean Experience (Athens, Greece). Sustainability. 2021; 13 (4):2042.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSamaneh Nickayin; Francesca Perrone; Barbara Ermini; Giovanni Quaranta; Rosanna Salvia; Filippo Gambella; Gianluca Egidi. 2021. "Soil Quality and Peri-Urban Expansion of Cities: A Mediterranean Experience (Athens, Greece)." Sustainability 13, no. 4: 2042.
The linkage between land-use change and demographic transitions in advanced countries has becoming increasingly complex because of the mutual interplay of environmental and socioeconomic spheres influencing the degree of sustainability of both regional and local developmental processes. The relationship between urbanization and economic development has been relatively well investigated by clarifying the consequent impacts on population dynamics. In the early phases of urbanization and economic development, population grew at a particularly high rate, declining (more or less rapidly) in the subsequent time interval. Improving income and education opportunities in urban settings resulted in further urbanization, leading to progressively lower fertility. At the same time, a more general view on the relationship between land-use change and demographic transition focusing on a broader spectrum of landscape processes (including farmland abandonment and forest expansion) at larger spatial scales (from regional to country and continental scale) is increasingly required. The present study provides an integrated view of the relationship between land-use change, urbanization, and demographic transitions with specific focus on Europe. Considering divergent processes of landscape transformations in a unified socioeconomic view may evidence the intimate linkage with recent population trends in both urban and rural areas.
Gianluca Egidi; Luca Salvati; Andrea Falcone; Giovanni Quaranta; Rosanna Salvia; Renata Vcelakova; Antonio Giménez-Morera. Re-Framing the Latent Nexus between Land-Use Change, Urbanization and Demographic Transitions in Advanced Economies. Sustainability 2021, 13, 533 .
AMA StyleGianluca Egidi, Luca Salvati, Andrea Falcone, Giovanni Quaranta, Rosanna Salvia, Renata Vcelakova, Antonio Giménez-Morera. Re-Framing the Latent Nexus between Land-Use Change, Urbanization and Demographic Transitions in Advanced Economies. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (2):533.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGianluca Egidi; Luca Salvati; Andrea Falcone; Giovanni Quaranta; Rosanna Salvia; Renata Vcelakova; Antonio Giménez-Morera. 2021. "Re-Framing the Latent Nexus between Land-Use Change, Urbanization and Demographic Transitions in Advanced Economies." Sustainability 13, no. 2: 533.
Density-dependent population growth is a powerful engine of metropolitan expansion. However, spatial heterogeneity in demographic dynamics of advanced economies makes identification of density-dependent mechanisms of population growth a particularly hard task. The intrinsic linkage between long-term population increase, settlement expansion, and economic growth was investigated in Southern Italy, a peripheral European region, with use of Geographically Weighted Regressions verifying (global and local) mechanisms of density-dependent population growth in 2500 municipalities between 1861 and 2019. At the global scale, results demonstrate that population growth rates increased with population density since 1951. At the local scale, this relationship was particularly evident in the largest metropolitan regions (Naples, Bari, Palermo, Cagliari) between 1951 and 1981, becoming more intense in coastal, rural districts between 1991 and 2019. These findings delineate the predominance of density-independent mechanisms of population growth up to World War II, in a context of high fertility and accelerated emigration rates from Southern Italy. A density-dependent population growth was observed since 1951, enlarging socioeconomic disparities and consolidating the urban hierarchy centred on few large cities. Taken together, these results evidence the intrinsic nexus between demographic dynamics and agglomeration/scale factors fuelling urban expansion and state-driven industrialization in Italy.
Gianluca Egidi; Giovanni Quaranta; Luca Salvati; Rosanna Salvia; Gimenez Morera Antonio. Investigating density-dependent patterns of population growth in Southern Italy, 1861–2019. Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences 2021, 14, 11 -30.
AMA StyleGianluca Egidi, Giovanni Quaranta, Luca Salvati, Rosanna Salvia, Gimenez Morera Antonio. Investigating density-dependent patterns of population growth in Southern Italy, 1861–2019. Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences. 2021; 14 (1):11-30.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGianluca Egidi; Giovanni Quaranta; Luca Salvati; Rosanna Salvia; Gimenez Morera Antonio. 2021. "Investigating density-dependent patterns of population growth in Southern Italy, 1861–2019." Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences 14, no. 1: 11-30.
Understanding Soil Degradation Processes (SDPs) is a fundamental issue for humankind. Soil degradation involves complex processes that are influenced by a multifaceted ensemble of socioeconomic and ecological factors at vastly different spatial scales. Desertification risk (the ultimate outcome of soil degradation, seen as an irreversible process of natural resource destruction) and socioeconomic trends have been recently analyzed assuming “resilience thinking” as an appropriate interpretative paradigm. In a purely socioeconomic dimension, resilience is defined as the ability of a local system to react to external signals and to promote future development. This ability is intrinsically bonded with the socio-ecological dynamics characteristic of environmentally homogeneous districts. However, an evaluation of the relationship between SDPs and socioeconomic resilience in local systems is missing in mainstream literature. Our commentary formulates an exploratory framework for the assessment of soil degradation, intended as a dynamic process of natural resource depletion, and the level of socioeconomic resilience in local systems. Such a framework is intended to provide a suitable background to sustainability science and regional policies at the base of truly resilient local systems.
Filippo Gambella; Giovanni Quaranta; Nathan Morrow; Renata Vcelakova; Luca Salvati; Antonio Gimenez Morera; Jesús Rodrigo-Comino. Soil Degradation and Socioeconomic Systems’ Complexity: Uncovering the Latent Nexus. Land 2021, 10, 30 .
AMA StyleFilippo Gambella, Giovanni Quaranta, Nathan Morrow, Renata Vcelakova, Luca Salvati, Antonio Gimenez Morera, Jesús Rodrigo-Comino. Soil Degradation and Socioeconomic Systems’ Complexity: Uncovering the Latent Nexus. Land. 2021; 10 (1):30.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFilippo Gambella; Giovanni Quaranta; Nathan Morrow; Renata Vcelakova; Luca Salvati; Antonio Gimenez Morera; Jesús Rodrigo-Comino. 2021. "Soil Degradation and Socioeconomic Systems’ Complexity: Uncovering the Latent Nexus." Land 10, no. 1: 30.
The long-term expansion and the evolution of town planning of a contemporary European metropolis (Athens, Greece) has been analysed in this study in order to evaluate how sustainable urban growth has been taken into account in sequential strategic master plans. During the last decades, the mostly unplanned urban growth and massive housing construction have favoured a slow evolution towards a less compact and mono-centric spatial asset, typical of several Mediterranean cities. Despite efforts to guide urban growth, a series of structural challenges have remained: (i) a gap between planning and implementation; (ii) a gap between spatial planning and socio-economic planning; (iii) a relevant pressure on natural environment; (iv) a lack of participatory planning. In order to face these problems, current strategies for the city of Athens try to foster city resilience providing guidelines for more sustainable management of the built and natural landscape. In particular, the Resilience Strategy for 2030 proposes a list of actions to improve the well-being of citizens and to increase sustainability at the urban and territorial levels. A major role was given to the enhancement of the environmental quality of the metropolitan area and to the involvement of inhabitants in the various phases of decision-making.
Samaneh Nickayin; Antonio Tomao; Giovanni Quaranta; Luca Salvati; Antonio Gimenez Morera. Going toward Resilience? Town Planning, Peri-Urban Landscapes, and the Expansion of Athens, Greece. Sustainability 2020, 12, 10471 .
AMA StyleSamaneh Nickayin, Antonio Tomao, Giovanni Quaranta, Luca Salvati, Antonio Gimenez Morera. Going toward Resilience? Town Planning, Peri-Urban Landscapes, and the Expansion of Athens, Greece. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (24):10471.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSamaneh Nickayin; Antonio Tomao; Giovanni Quaranta; Luca Salvati; Antonio Gimenez Morera. 2020. "Going toward Resilience? Town Planning, Peri-Urban Landscapes, and the Expansion of Athens, Greece." Sustainability 12, no. 24: 10471.
In a context of aging, low fertility, and progressive slowdown of both internal population mobility and international migration at working age, residential mobility at older ages was regarded as an emerging phenomenon in Mediterranean Europe, a region with increasingly attractive retirement places. The present work discusses the socioeconomic processes (and the environmental impacts) associated with an increasing flow of retirees, which decide to settle from ‘Northern’ countries to Southern Europe, concentrating in coastal districts and in rural countryside. Understanding lifestyle preferences and territorial patterns of residential mobility at older ages allows a refined analysis of short- and medium-term impacts of International Retirement Migration (IRM) on population dynamics in economically growing and declining regions. A refined analysis reveals that destinations of IRM are progressively enlarging from strictly coastal places to a broader set of locations in the rural countryside. Mobility choices among retirees may jeopardize the role of spatial planning, which is increasingly asked to provide specific services for an international, elder population, e.g., stimulating re-use of abandoned rural buildings. Taken as an effective option for rural development, an improved planning and management of local districts attracting and hosting intense flows of residential mobility at older ages is urgent in the present socioeconomic context. A convenient set of policies and a refined taxation system may contribute to reconcile demographic shrinkage with local competitiveness and social cohesion.
Gianluca Egidi; Giovanni Quaranta; Luca Salvati; Filippo Gambella; Enrico Maria Mosconi; Antonio Giménez Morera; Andrea Colantoni. Unraveling Causes and Consequences of International Retirement Migration to Coastal and Rural Areas in Mediterranean Europe. Land 2020, 9, 410 .
AMA StyleGianluca Egidi, Giovanni Quaranta, Luca Salvati, Filippo Gambella, Enrico Maria Mosconi, Antonio Giménez Morera, Andrea Colantoni. Unraveling Causes and Consequences of International Retirement Migration to Coastal and Rural Areas in Mediterranean Europe. Land. 2020; 9 (11):410.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGianluca Egidi; Giovanni Quaranta; Luca Salvati; Filippo Gambella; Enrico Maria Mosconi; Antonio Giménez Morera; Andrea Colantoni. 2020. "Unraveling Causes and Consequences of International Retirement Migration to Coastal and Rural Areas in Mediterranean Europe." Land 9, no. 11: 410.
Land degradation is more evident where conditions of environmental vulnerability already exist because of arid climate and unsustainable forms of land exploitation. Consequently, semi-arid and dry areas have been identified as vulnerable land, requiring attention from both science and policy perspectives. In some regions, such as the Mediterranean region, land degradation is particularly intense, although there are no extreme ecological conditions. In these contexts, a wide range of formal and informal responses is necessary to face particularly complex and spatially differentiated territorial processes. However, the fit of responses has been demonstrated to be different over time and space according to the underlying socioeconomic context and the specific ecological conditions. The present commentary discusses this sort of “entropy” in the policy response to land degradation in Southern Europe, outlining the intrinsic complexity of human–nature dynamics at the base of such processes. Reflecting the need of differentiated regional strategies and more specific national measures to combat desertification, three policy frameworks (agro-environmental, economic, social) with an indirect impact on fighting land degradation have been considered, delineating the importance of policy assemblages. Finally, the importance of policy impact assessment methodologies was highlighted, focusing on the possible responses reinforcing a continental strategy against land degradation. By evidencing the role of participatory planning, developmental policies indirectly addressing land degradation reveal to be an important vector of more specific measures abating desertification risk, creating, in turn, a favorable context for direct interventions of mitigation or adaptation to climate change.
Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Daniela Smiraglia; Giovanni Quaranta; Rosanna Salvia; Luca Salvati; Antonio Giménez-Morera. Land Degradation and Mitigation Policies in the Mediterranean Region: A Brief Commentary. Sustainability 2020, 12, 8313 .
AMA StyleRares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Daniela Smiraglia, Giovanni Quaranta, Rosanna Salvia, Luca Salvati, Antonio Giménez-Morera. Land Degradation and Mitigation Policies in the Mediterranean Region: A Brief Commentary. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (20):8313.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Daniela Smiraglia; Giovanni Quaranta; Rosanna Salvia; Luca Salvati; Antonio Giménez-Morera. 2020. "Land Degradation and Mitigation Policies in the Mediterranean Region: A Brief Commentary." Sustainability 12, no. 20: 8313.
Multifaceted demographic dynamics have shaped population growth in Mediterranean Europe, reflecting a metropolitan cycle from urbanization to re-urbanization. To assess the distinctive impact of economic downturns on population dynamics, the present study illustrates the results of an exploratory analysis that assesses urban expansion and rural decline at various temporal scales in Greece, a peripheral country in southeastern Europe. Statistical analysis based on multivariate exploratory techniques outlined the persistent increase of regional populations, evidencing the distinctive role of agglomeration/scale with urbanization and early suburbanization phases (1940–1980) and accessibility/amenities with late suburbanization and re-urbanization phases (1981–2019). Recession accompanied (and, in some way, consolidated) the decline of agglomeration economies, leading to counter-urbanization in some cases. As an indirect result of counter-urbanization, the population increased more rapidly in low-density coastal areas with moderate accessibility and tourism specialization. Consistently, settlement expansion has altered the persistent gap in central and peripheral locations. A polarized urban hierarchy centered on the capital city, Athens, was replaced with a more diffused growth of medium-sized cities and attractive rural locations, depicting a new development path for lagging countries in the European Union and other socioeconomic contexts worldwide.
Rosanna Salvia; Gianluca Egidi; Luca Salvati; Jesús Rodrigo Comino; Giovanni Quaranta. In-Between ‘Smart’ Urban Growth and ‘Sluggish’ Rural Development? Reframing Population Dynamics in Greece, 1940–2019. Sustainability 2020, 12, 6165 .
AMA StyleRosanna Salvia, Gianluca Egidi, Luca Salvati, Jesús Rodrigo Comino, Giovanni Quaranta. In-Between ‘Smart’ Urban Growth and ‘Sluggish’ Rural Development? Reframing Population Dynamics in Greece, 1940–2019. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (15):6165.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRosanna Salvia; Gianluca Egidi; Luca Salvati; Jesús Rodrigo Comino; Giovanni Quaranta. 2020. "In-Between ‘Smart’ Urban Growth and ‘Sluggish’ Rural Development? Reframing Population Dynamics in Greece, 1940–2019." Sustainability 12, no. 15: 6165.
Considering settlement characteristics and population dynamics together over multiple spatio-temporal scales, the present study analyzes the spatial distribution of sparse settlements and population surrounding a large city in Southern Europe (Athens, Greece), in relation with long-term metropolitan growth and recent economic downturns. Results of the analysis identify regional-scale processes of urban compaction during economic expansion (2000s) with incorporation of scattered settlements in a high-density urban fabric, and moderate urban dispersion affecting low-density, peripheral areas in the subsequent period of recession (2010s). However, more heterogeneous dynamics were observed at the local scale. With economic expansion, a slight increase in the number of settlements was observed in local districts experiencing intense sprawl in earlier decades. With recession, a slight decrease in the number of settlements was, in turn, recorded in some rural districts surrounding compact urban centers, likely acting as local hotspots of urban re-densification. Given the multiplicity of socioeconomic factors involved, our findings highlight how urban development follows sequential phases of compaction and dispersion, based on locally differentiated spatial regimes characterizing settlement expansion and population growth. Sustainable urban management should face more actively with increasingly fragmented settlement dynamics at the fringe, prefiguring an appropriate spatial balance between urban centers and sparse settlements in light of recent demographic trends.
Rosanna Salvia; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Sirio Cividino; Luca Salvati; Giovanni Quaranta. From Rural Spaces to Peri-Urban Districts: Metropolitan Growth, Sparse Settlements and Demographic Dynamics in a Mediterranean Region. Land 2020, 9, 200 .
AMA StyleRosanna Salvia, Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Sirio Cividino, Luca Salvati, Giovanni Quaranta. From Rural Spaces to Peri-Urban Districts: Metropolitan Growth, Sparse Settlements and Demographic Dynamics in a Mediterranean Region. Land. 2020; 9 (6):200.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRosanna Salvia; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Sirio Cividino; Luca Salvati; Giovanni Quaranta. 2020. "From Rural Spaces to Peri-Urban Districts: Metropolitan Growth, Sparse Settlements and Demographic Dynamics in a Mediterranean Region." Land 9, no. 6: 200.
Agro-food chains are a coupled social-ecological system (SES). The actors involved in the agro-food chain (farmers, processing, distribution and retail industries, consumers) take decisions that feed back into the different components of the food chain as well as into the agroecosystem within which they are embedded. In the light of global warming and limited natural resources, it is imperative to build resilient agro-food chains that ensure food security and the integrity of the ecosystems. Resilience is the ability of a system to maintain its structure and functions and to reorganize itself in the face of the disturbance. Using a resilience thinking approach, this chapter proposes a framework to analyse the links between the mechanisms put in place within an agro-food chain to foster resilience and their impacts in terms of ecosystem services and the wider socio-economic effects on the socio-ecological system as a whole. The framework has been tested in a typical Mediterranean context, analysing an olive oil chain over the last 60 years.
Rosanna Salvia; Giovanni Quaranta. Food Chains and Ecosystem Services Through a Resilience Lens. Cooperative Management 2020, 17 -34.
AMA StyleRosanna Salvia, Giovanni Quaranta. Food Chains and Ecosystem Services Through a Resilience Lens. Cooperative Management. 2020; ():17-34.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRosanna Salvia; Giovanni Quaranta. 2020. "Food Chains and Ecosystem Services Through a Resilience Lens." Cooperative Management , no. : 17-34.
Depopulation and economic marginalization of rural districts have induced a progressive land abandonment in agricultural and pastoral districts. In Europe, areas at higher risk of farmland abandonment are characterized by low‐intensity pasture systems whose fate is strongly dependent on state incentives or subsidies to rural development promoting more sustainable land‐use trajectories. Especially in Southern Europe, undergrazing is the main driver of pasture degradation. In such a context, a land management preserving pasture resilience requires a wider knowledge about the impact of practices on the ecological characteristics of pastures and an improved understanding of complex socio‐environmental interactions underlying the adoption of such practices. Based on these premises, this study investigates the extent to which the past land management reflects the current state of agro‐pastoral systems in a local community of Southern Apennine (Basilicata, Italy). Based on a multi‐scale analysis integrating multiple sources of data and exploratory techniques, three land‐use trajectories with different implications for land degradation were identified: (i) areas completely abandoned, (ii) areas with a decrease in grazing where the management system is remained unchanged and, (iii) areas characterized by a decrease in grazing with changes in the management system. Results outline the importance of landscape history shaping (optimal and sub‐optimal) land management and the influence of landscape structure on livestock performances within different farm management types. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Giovanni Quaranta; Rosanna Salvia; Luca Salvati; Velia De Paola; Rosa Coluzzi; Vito Imbrenda; Tiziana Simoniello. Long‐term impacts of grazing management on land degradation in a rural community of Southern Italy: Depopulation matters. Land Degradation & Development 2020, 31, 1 .
AMA StyleGiovanni Quaranta, Rosanna Salvia, Luca Salvati, Velia De Paola, Rosa Coluzzi, Vito Imbrenda, Tiziana Simoniello. Long‐term impacts of grazing management on land degradation in a rural community of Southern Italy: Depopulation matters. Land Degradation & Development. 2020; 31 (16):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGiovanni Quaranta; Rosanna Salvia; Luca Salvati; Velia De Paola; Rosa Coluzzi; Vito Imbrenda; Tiziana Simoniello. 2020. "Long‐term impacts of grazing management on land degradation in a rural community of Southern Italy: Depopulation matters." Land Degradation & Development 31, no. 16: 1.
Mediterranean regions have experienced a shift from accelerated urban growth typical of a post-industrial phase to a more recent spatial delocalization of population and economic activities reflecting discontinuous settlement expansion, land take, and the abandonment of cultivated areas around central cities. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of land-use, settlement, and demographic indicators, the present study explores urban growth and population density over a sufficiently long time period in a metropolitan region of Southern Europe (Rome, Italy). Local-scale population trends were compared with the evolution of the primary sector (workers in agriculture, number of farms, cultivated land) between 1951 and 2011. Our results indicate non-linear growth waves alternating compact and discontinuous expansion shaping fringe land. The future development of metropolitan regions is increasingly dependent on the relationship between urban diffusion and economic viability of peri-urban agriculture. Crop abandonment and land take rates increase in local contexts where peri-urban agriculture rapidly declines. Policies managing ex-urban development and promoting the recovery of fringe soils are increasingly required to contain the expansion of dispersed settlements and preserve relict agricultural systems from land conversion to urban use.
Gianluca Egidi; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Sirio Cividino; Giovanni Quaranta; Luca Salvati; Andrea Colantoni. Rural in Town: Traditional Agriculture, Population Trends, and Long-Term Urban Expansion in Metropolitan Rome. Land 2020, 9, 53 .
AMA StyleGianluca Egidi, Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Sirio Cividino, Giovanni Quaranta, Luca Salvati, Andrea Colantoni. Rural in Town: Traditional Agriculture, Population Trends, and Long-Term Urban Expansion in Metropolitan Rome. Land. 2020; 9 (2):53.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGianluca Egidi; Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir; Sirio Cividino; Giovanni Quaranta; Luca Salvati; Andrea Colantoni. 2020. "Rural in Town: Traditional Agriculture, Population Trends, and Long-Term Urban Expansion in Metropolitan Rome." Land 9, no. 2: 53.
Mediterranean regions are likely to be the most vulnerable areas to wildfires in Europe. In this context, land-use change has promoted land abandonment and the consequent accumulation of biomass (fuel) in (progressively less managed) forests and (non-forest) natural land, causing higher fire density and severity, economic damage, and land degradation. The expansion of Wildland-Urban Interfaces (WUIs) further affects fire density by negatively impacting peri-urban farming and livestock density. Assuming the role of grazing in controlling fuel accumulation in forests and non-forest natural land as an indirect measure of wildfire containment around large Mediterranean cities, our work focuses on the role of nomadic livestock, i.e., sheep and goats—the most abundant and traditional farm species in the area. The present study (i) investigates the relationship between fire frequency/extent and livestock decline at the regional level in Greece, (ii) explores changes over time in regional wildfire regimes, comparing Attica, a particularly vulnerable peri-urban region which includes Athens (the Greek capital city), with the rest of the country, and (iii) quantifies trends over time in livestock characteristics (population structure and dynamics) over a sufficiently long time interval (1961–2017) at the same spatial scale, with the aim to document the progressive reduction of nomadic livestock in peri-urban districts. A comprehensive analysis of statistical data, corroborated with a literature review, outlined the relationship between livestock decline over time and changes in specific wildfire characteristics at the regional scale, evidencing peculiar environmental conditions in Attica. In this region, a rapid decline of nomadic livestock was observed compared to in the rest of Greece, leading to a higher wildfire risk. The results of this study suggest that nomadic livestock contributes to sustainable management of peri-urban land, stimulating grazing that may prevent fuel accumulation in fringe woodlands.
Andrea Colantoni; Gianluca Egidi; Giovanni Quaranta; Roberto D’Alessandro; Sabato Vinci; Rosario Turco; Luca Salvati. Sustainable Land Management, Wildfire Risk and the Role of Grazing in Mediterranean Urban-Rural Interfaces: A Regional Approach from Greece. Land 2020, 9, 21 .
AMA StyleAndrea Colantoni, Gianluca Egidi, Giovanni Quaranta, Roberto D’Alessandro, Sabato Vinci, Rosario Turco, Luca Salvati. Sustainable Land Management, Wildfire Risk and the Role of Grazing in Mediterranean Urban-Rural Interfaces: A Regional Approach from Greece. Land. 2020; 9 (1):21.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAndrea Colantoni; Gianluca Egidi; Giovanni Quaranta; Roberto D’Alessandro; Sabato Vinci; Rosario Turco; Luca Salvati. 2020. "Sustainable Land Management, Wildfire Risk and the Role of Grazing in Mediterranean Urban-Rural Interfaces: A Regional Approach from Greece." Land 9, no. 1: 21.
Resilience thinking is an appropriate framework when assessing the transitional potential of complex urban systems. The transformation of abandoned spaces into local hubs attracting new and innovative activities and events promotes a socioeconomic renaissance in urban communities, by stimulating adaptation to change, enhancing local resilience and strengthening urban–rural links. Under the conceptual umbrella of resilience thinking, the present study illustrates the outcomes of an integrated program of research-action aimed at urban regeneration in a medium-sized, economically disadvantaged city in Southern Italy (Battipaglia, Campania). The transformation of an abandoned building into an ‘Art–Food Hub’—a multi-purpose and creative cultural space—based on resilience thinking was the specific case analyzed in our study. Appropriate stakeholders were identified and involved in a series of field activities and workshops, with the final objective of informing a comprehensive strategy strengthening awareness to change and capacity building. More specifically, stakeholder involvement was carried out with two aims: first, to make stakeholders active participants in co-designing a Strategic Urban Planning Document for Battipaglia and, second, to evaluate to what extent the proposed initiative contributes to building local resilience. By explicitly considering cross-scale drivers of community resilience, the results of this study show how the concept of resilience can be practically applied to policy formulation and implementation.
Giovanni Quaranta; Cristina Dalia; Luca Salvati; Rosanna Salvia. Building Resilience: An Art–Food Hub to Connect Local Communities. Sustainability 2019, 11, 7169 .
AMA StyleGiovanni Quaranta, Cristina Dalia, Luca Salvati, Rosanna Salvia. Building Resilience: An Art–Food Hub to Connect Local Communities. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (24):7169.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGiovanni Quaranta; Cristina Dalia; Luca Salvati; Rosanna Salvia. 2019. "Building Resilience: An Art–Food Hub to Connect Local Communities." Sustainability 11, no. 24: 7169.
Land degradation is a multifaceted phenomenon. In many mountainous and hilly areas that are marginal in terms of their economic and social sustainability, degradation is closely linked to population decline through ageing and outmigration, and to the abandonment of land, leading to a loss of community resilience. These processes acting together can produce positive feedback loops, with the consequential loss of socio-economic resilience at larger spatial scales that can ultimately lead to the disintegration of entire territories. Drawing on recent advances in defining, integrating, and operationalizing the measurement of resilience, this paper took a new approach by exploring changing resilience over an extended period in a rural region of southern Italy. The paper used both quantitative and qualitative methods to test the complex and shifting relationships between multiple domains, as an expression of spatial and temporal patterns of resilience, and examined the impact of shifting resilience on continuing degradation processes. The results suggest that the capacity of socio-ecological systems to respond sustainably to land degradation over an extended period of time is highly dependent on two critical processes: the availability and mobilization of critical factors within the five key domains noted above, and the strength of the temporal and spatial cross-scale relationships between those factors.
Rosanna Salvia; Claire L. Kelly; Geoff A. Wilson; Giovanni Quaranta. A Longitudinal Approach to Examining the Socio-Economic Resilience of the Alento District (Italy) to Land Degradation—1950 to Present. Sustainability 2019, 11, 6762 .
AMA StyleRosanna Salvia, Claire L. Kelly, Geoff A. Wilson, Giovanni Quaranta. A Longitudinal Approach to Examining the Socio-Economic Resilience of the Alento District (Italy) to Land Degradation—1950 to Present. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (23):6762.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRosanna Salvia; Claire L. Kelly; Geoff A. Wilson; Giovanni Quaranta. 2019. "A Longitudinal Approach to Examining the Socio-Economic Resilience of the Alento District (Italy) to Land Degradation—1950 to Present." Sustainability 11, no. 23: 6762.