During 25 October 2011, an extremely intense rainfall event occurred in Eastern Liguria and Northern Tuscany. Severe damages were registered in the Monterosso and Vernazza basins, located in the famous area of Cinque Terre, which have been affected by hundreds of landslides, mud flows, and erosions. The main feature of the Cinque Terre landscape is the presence of terraced cultivations on steep slopes facing the sea. The area represents a remarkable cultural landscape, is a National Park, and is included in the World Heritage List of the UNESCO. This work aims to analyze the effect of abandoned terraced land on hydrogeological risks and in landslide prevention, by comparing what happened in Cinque Terre to other experiences presented in scientific literature. The cessation of maintenance of dry stone terraces due to the crisis of traditional agriculture was identified as the main cause of failure during the heavy rainfall event. However, we found some contrasting and, in some cases, unexpected results in the literature regarding the effects of the vegetation that develops on abandoned terraces. This paper compares different results in order to better understand what the future of terraced landscapes is and which are the best management strategies for such complex and fragile territories. In particular, where they represent a cultural heritage and a resource for the rural economy.

Italian dry-stone wall terracing represents one of the most iconic features of agricultural landscapes across Europe, with sites listed among UNESCO World Heritage Sites and FAO Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). The analysis of microclimate modifications induced by alterations of hillslope and by dry-stone walls is of particular interest for the valuation of benefits and drawbacks of terraces cultivation, a global land management technique. The aim of this paper is to perform a thermal characterization of a dry-stone wall terraced vineyard in the Chianti area (Tuscany, Italy), to detect possible microclimate dynamics induced by dry-stone terracing. The aerial surveys were carried out by using two sensors, in the Visible (VIS) and Thermal InfraRed (TIR) spectral range, mounted on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), with two different flights. Our results reveal that, in the morning, vineyard rows close to dry-stone walls have statistically lower temperatures with respect to the external ones. In the afternoon, due to solar insulation, temperatures raised to the same value for each row. The results of this early study, jointly with the latest developments in UAV and sensor technologies, justify and encourage further analyses on local climatic modifications in terraced landscapes.

Flood hazard mitigation in urban areas crossed by vegetated flows can be achieved through two distinct approaches, based on structural and eco-friendly solutions, referred to as grey and green–blue engineering scenarios, respectively; this one is often based on best management practices (BMP) and low-impact developments (LID). In this study, the hydraulic efficiency of two green–blue scenarios in reducing flood hazards of an urban area crossed by a vegetated river located in Central Tuscany (Italy), named Morra Creek, were evaluated for a return period of 200 years, by analyzing the flooding outcomes of 1D and 2D unsteady hydraulic simulations. In the first scenario, the impact of a diffuse effect of flood peak reduction along Morra Creek was assessed by considering an overall real-scale growth of common reed beds. In the second scenario, riverine vegetation along Morra Creek was preserved, while flood hazard was mitigated using a single vegetated flood control area. This study demonstrates well the benefits of employing green–blue solutions for reducing flood hazards in vegetated rivers intersecting agro-forestry and urban areas while preserving their riverine ecosystems. It emerged that the first scenario is a valuable alternative to the more impacting second scenario, given the presence of flood control areas.

This study presents a methodology for improving the efficiency of Baptist and Stone and Shen models in predicting the global water flow resistance of a reclamation channel partly vegetated by rigid and emergent riparian plants. The results of the two resistance models are compared with the measurements collected during an experimental campaign conducted in a reclamation channel colonized by Common reed (Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud.). Experimental vegetative Chézy’s flow resistance coefficients have been retrieved from the analysis of instantaneous flow velocity measurements, acquired by means of a downlooking 3-component acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) located at the channel upstream cross section, and by water level measurements obtained through four piezometers distributed along the reclamation channel. The main morphometrical vegetation features (i.e., stem diameters and heights, and bed surface density) have been measured at six cross sections of the vegetated reclamation channel. Following the theoretical assumptions of the divided channel method (DCM), three sub-sections have been delineated in the reference cross section to represent the impact of the partial vegetation cover on the cross sectional variability of the flow field, as observed with the ADV measurements. The global vegetative Chézy’s flow resistance coefficients have been then computed by combining each resistance model with four different composite cross section methods, respectively suggested by Colebatch, Horton, Pavlovskii, and Yen. The comparative analysis between the modeled and the experimental vegetative Chézy’s coefficients has been performed by computing the relative prediction error (ε_r, expressed in %) under two flow rate regimes. Stone and Shen model combined with the Horton composite cross section method provides vegetative Chézy’s coefficients with the lowest ε_r.

One of the main purposes of Ecohydraulics is to predict the effects of riparian vegetation on aquatic ecosystems within real water channels. The interaction between water flow and riparian plants significantly affects flow dynamics, hydraulic conveyance, and water quality of vegetated water bodies. This study aimed at quantifying analytically the uncertainty in flow average velocity estimations associated with the uncertainty of Leaf Area Index (LAI) of Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steudel covering a vegetated channel. The impacts of this species on the hydrodynamics of vegetated streams are far to be completely understood. The uncertainty in flow average velocity was assessed through the first-order second-moment statistical method, by comparing direct and indirect LAI measurements of mature Phragmites australis plants. Indirect LAI values were obtained using the LICOR® LAI-2000 Plant Canopy Analyzer device. The results of this study suggest that the uncertainties in flow average velocity estimations are comparable to those associated with experimental measurements of streamwise velocity components retrieved in real vegetated flows fully covered by mature Phragmites australis plants.