Effects of anthropogenic pressures on dune systems—Case study: Calabria (Italy)

During the second half of the last century, considerable anthropization processes were observed throughout most of the Italian territory. These processes have altered the equilibrium conditions of several river and coastal ecosystems, causing the destruction of numerous dune systems. This issue is particularly important in territories such as Calabria, a region in southern Italy subject to considerable anthropogenic pressures and characterized by over 700 km of coast. The aim of the paper was to evaluate the effects of anthropogenic pressures on the Calabrian dune systems, especially in regard to the triggering of coastal erosion processes. For this purpose, historical and current cartographic data, such as shapefiles, cartography, and satellite imagery, were analyzed using QGIS. This evaluation was carried out through the comparison between the current extension of the dune systems and their extensions after the Second World War, before the anthropogenic pressures. This evaluation was also carried out through the analysis of shoreline changes in coastal areas, where dune systems are currently present, and in coastal areas where dune systems have been partially or totally destroyed by anthropogenic causes, compared to the 1950s, thus excluding coastal areas without dune systems in the 1950s, and analyzing what was built in place of the destroyed dune systems. Two criteria were defined to identify the levels of destruction of the dune systems and to identify the coastal erosion processes. The analysis showed a strong correlation between the destruction of dune systems by anthropogenic causes and the triggering of coastal erosion processes.