Landscape ecology, habitat changes and management

The research line is based on principles and methods of Landscape Ecology. It focuses on identifying the causes and consequences of the landscape dynamics (current and historical) and its related habitats.

Patterns and processes are analyzed in a multiscalar-multitemporal context and the resulting knowledge is applied to management purposes and biodiversity conservation.

The structure and dynamics of the landscape are analyzed through historical sources (textual and cartographic), image analysis, thematic maps, vegetation sampling, GIS, landscape metrics and data analysis.

The landscapes examined are both those subject to abandonment phenomena and those affected by intensification of land uses, as well as those of historical and cultural interest.

Particular attention is given to the habitats included in the Habitat Directive (92/43CEE), and among them the Castanea sativa-dominated woods, in particular.