A heterogenous-source Geoinformation System to manage landscape modifications from a climate-change resilience perspective

Abstract

Abstract Historical landscapes in Italy have been changing slowly over the centuries since their features, once fixed in certain shapes, were perpetuated until new economic and social developments occurred. Yet, in the Alpine region, this territorial organization underwent sudden changes after WWII, resulting in a loss of population and traditional agropastoral production in favour of skiing plants and holiday houses. Moreover, the loss of traditional knowledge of environmental behaviour has resulted in urbanization of lands vulnerable to extreme events. Nowadays, modern mapping technologies enable the assessment of the state of the landscape before, during, and after extreme events whose increased frequency is possibly related to climate change. The case study presented in the paper is the flood that hit Limone Piemonte, Italy, between October 2 and 3, 2020. On that occasion, an aerial survey of the affected areas was carried out by means of Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAV) a few weeks after the event. Spatial analyses based on very high-resolution satellite imagery acquired a few days after the event were also carried out to integrate and support where to plan more detailed 3D surveys, enabling the assessment of damages at different map scales. Thanks to the availability of pre-event multi-temporal cartographic reference datasets it was possible to monitor the historical evolution of built-up area extent in the affected areas. It was possible to assess the vulnerable areas before the event and to evaluate the morphological and settlement changes after the disaster. Thus, we advocate that geoinformation systems are one of the main tools for studying environmental and climate alterations impacting landscapes. The ultimate goal was not only to produce a 3D model of the affected areas but also to provide the public administration with a sustainable and innovative tool for territorial and landscape management, in accordance with the 11th pillar of UN Sustainable Development Goals.