Mapping Geodiversity at a National Scale: the Case Study of Italy

Abstract

AbstractIn order to assess the geodiversity of the Italian Peninsula, which covers approximately 300.000 km2, a semi-quantitative method based on the use of grids recording several indicators and indices was developed. The variety of geological, geomorphological, and pedological elements, characterizing the Italian territory, has been assessed with a two-step procedure. Firstly, the variety algorithm has been applied using grid cells with variable size, related to the spatial resolution of the input data, then the resulting variety values were averaged with a fixed cell size functional to the extent of the study area and the output scale of the geodiversity map. This procedure made it possible to preserve the spatial resolution of the input data (Digital Terrain Model, lithological and soil maps) providing as output a geodiversity map that faithfully reproduces the features of the Italian territory. In case of discrete data (rivers, lakes, glaciers, etc.), a procedure that assigns to each cell the maximum area or length values out of all its elements has been implemented. It made possible to preserve the hydrological elements that shape the landscape (e.g., the longest rivers, largest lakes, etc.) and represent important freshwater resource. An overview of the geographical distribution of geodiversity classes over the whole Italian territory has been elaborated. The resulting geodiversity map is a valuable tool for environmental planning, in particular for the identification of areas to be preserved, for the proper management of geo-resources and natural services.