Evidences of Soil Consumption Dynamics over Space and Time by Data Analysis in a Southern Italy Urban Sprawling Area

Abstract

A qualitative and quantitative deterioration of natural environments occurred recently worldwide. Loss of ecological capacities and agricultural decline are the critical consequences of urbanisation. This paper focuses on the value of assessing the urban sprawl in a southern Italy territory in order to evaluate the significant landscape transformations and provide a document to local administrators for a more balanced management of land use. The importance to calculate the soil consumption dynamics is remarkable in the investigated territory, Rende municipality in the Calabria region, southern Italy, since it is characterized by the same human pressure that occurred in other Mediterranean areas, so it is well representative of wider territories included in the Mediterranean setting. The transition from rural areas to urban settlements has been investigated via landscape analysis, and conducted for spatial and temporal changes over 25 years. The landscape analysis has integrated data from the orthophotos and Esri topographic base map. Quantitatively, the estimation of urban growth, in all its components, and soil consumption are evident by analysis of the number of patches. Qualitatively, the occurred consumption of fertile soil has caused a significant impact on local environmental conditions and on human activities resulting in decreasing of arable land, which decreased significantly over the considered period. This study addresses how knowledge of the change in urban areas is needed to effectively manage urban environmental impacts.