It is now well known throughout the world that the well-being of a society is strongly linked to the environment in which it develops and grows. The environment is no longer seen as a container of resources to be drawn upon in times of need but rather as a system capable of providing a range of services (ecosystem services) only if it is preserved in its naturalness. The animal and plant species that inhabit the land are the result of a slow evolution that has been going on for millions of years, and for that reason, they need time to adapt to changes. Human activities such as urban expansion, agriculture or reclamation of various kinds tend to upset these balances rapidly. This trend in the last century has led to increasing degradation of natural environments and consequent loss of biodiversity. In this regard, the scholarly community has particularly emphasised the importance of protecting the planet's natural areas in the last century. It was further seen that merely protecting individual areas is insufficient; rather, protection measures are effective if protected areas are placed in an ecological network, canonically consisting of core areas, corridors, and stepping stones. To create efficient ecological networks, it is necessary to have a good knowledge of the territory on which one is working, and in this context, the recent work on the production of the Nature Map of the National Territory is an added value, making available to the planner a Habitat Map for each region. This Ph.D. thesis focused on ecological networks, paying attention to the mechanisms that generate them, those that damage them, and the most modern strategies for identifying and restoring them. The goal was to create an ecological network over a part of the Calabrian territory, knowing that it was necessary to find a balance between the natural and artificial components of the land. It started by analysing free and freely available cartographic data, particularly land use maps of the study area. Then it moved on to the creation and use of a habitat map. The present doctoral work actively contributed to the creation of the latter. Subsequently, simulations were conducted, and ecological network modelling was put in place, with free and open-source software support, to identify the most reliable strategy for realising the ecological network over the survey area. In particular, graph theory, circuit theory, resistant kernels approach and Pathwalker simulations were explored. The results obtained indicated the resistant kernels approach and Pathwalker simulations as the most reliable strategies in predicting the movement of animal species over the area. The results also suggest that using a habitat map instead of a land use map increases the robustness and reliability of the ecological network.

È ormai risaputa in tutto il mondo che il benessere di una società è fortemente legato all’ambiente in cui questa si sviluppa e cresce. L’ambiente non è più visto come un contenitore di risorse a cui attingere al momento del bisogno ma piuttosto come un sistema in grado di dare una serie di servizi (servizi ecosistemici), solo se preservato nella sua naturalità. Le specie animali e vegetali che popolano il territorio sono frutto di una lenta evoluzione che va avanti da milioni di anni e per tale ragione necessitano di tempo per adattarsi ai cambiamenti. Le attività umane come espansione urbana, agricola o bonifiche di varia natura tendono a sconvolgere rapidamente questi equilibri. Questo trend nell’ultimo secolo ha portato ad un degrado sempre maggiore degli ambienti naturali e alla conseguente perdita di biodiversità. A tal proposito nell’ultimo secolo la comunità scientifica ha spinto particolarmente sull’importanza di tutelare le aree naturali del pianeta. Si è visto inoltre come limitarsi a proteggere delle singole aree non sia sufficiente ma, piuttosto, le misure di protezione risultano efficaci se le aree protette vengono inserite nel contesto di una rete ecologica, canonicamente costituita da core areas, corridoi e stepping stones. Per realizzare reti ecologiche efficienti è necessario avere una buona conoscenza del territorio su cui si opera e, in questo contesto, il recente lavoro sulla produzione della Carta della Natura del territorio Nazionale risulta un valore aggiunto, mettendo a disposizione del pianificatore una Carta degli Habitat per ogni regione. La presente tesi di Dottorato ha focalizzato la sua attenzione proprio sulle reti ecologiche, ponendo attenzione ai meccanismi che la generano, a quelli che la danneggiano, e alle più moderne strategie che permettono di individuarle e ripristinarle. L’obbiettivo è stato quello realizzare una rete ecologica su una parte del territorio calabrese sapendo che è necessario trovare un equilibrio fra componente naturale e artificiale del territorio. Si è partito analizzando i dati cartografici gratuiti e liberi disponibili, in particolare mappe di uso del suolo dell’area studio, per poi passare alla realizzazione e utilizzo di una carta degli habitat. Il presente lavoro di dottorato ha contribuito attivamente alla realizzazione di quest’ultima. Successivamente sono state condotte simulazioni e messe in atto modellazioni di reti ecologiche, con il supporto di software gratuiti e liberi, al fine di individuare la strategia più affidabile in termini predittivi, per la realizzazione della rete ecologica sull’area d’indagine. In particolare, sono state esplorate: teoria dei grafi, teoria dei circuiti, approccio delle resistant kernels e simulazioni Pathwalker. I risultati ottenuti hanno permesso di indicare l’approccio delle resistant kernels e le simulazioni di Pathwalker come le strategie più affidabili nel predire il movimento delle specie animali sul territorio. I risultati suggeriscono oltretutto che l’utilizzo di una carta degli habitat al posto di una carta degli usi del suolo aumenta la solidità e l’affidabilità della rete ecologica.

An innovative proposal to implement Multispecies Ecological Networks in the framework of sustainable landscape planning. An application in the Reggio Calabria metropolitan area / Lumia, Giovanni. - (2024 Mar 20).

An innovative proposal to implement Multispecies Ecological Networks in the framework of sustainable landscape planning. An application in the Reggio Calabria metropolitan area

Lumia, Giovanni
2024-03-20

Abstract

It is now well known throughout the world that the well-being of a society is strongly linked to the environment in which it develops and grows. The environment is no longer seen as a container of resources to be drawn upon in times of need but rather as a system capable of providing a range of services (ecosystem services) only if it is preserved in its naturalness. The animal and plant species that inhabit the land are the result of a slow evolution that has been going on for millions of years, and for that reason, they need time to adapt to changes. Human activities such as urban expansion, agriculture or reclamation of various kinds tend to upset these balances rapidly. This trend in the last century has led to increasing degradation of natural environments and consequent loss of biodiversity. In this regard, the scholarly community has particularly emphasised the importance of protecting the planet's natural areas in the last century. It was further seen that merely protecting individual areas is insufficient; rather, protection measures are effective if protected areas are placed in an ecological network, canonically consisting of core areas, corridors, and stepping stones. To create efficient ecological networks, it is necessary to have a good knowledge of the territory on which one is working, and in this context, the recent work on the production of the Nature Map of the National Territory is an added value, making available to the planner a Habitat Map for each region. This Ph.D. thesis focused on ecological networks, paying attention to the mechanisms that generate them, those that damage them, and the most modern strategies for identifying and restoring them. The goal was to create an ecological network over a part of the Calabrian territory, knowing that it was necessary to find a balance between the natural and artificial components of the land. It started by analysing free and freely available cartographic data, particularly land use maps of the study area. Then it moved on to the creation and use of a habitat map. The present doctoral work actively contributed to the creation of the latter. Subsequently, simulations were conducted, and ecological network modelling was put in place, with free and open-source software support, to identify the most reliable strategy for realising the ecological network over the survey area. In particular, graph theory, circuit theory, resistant kernels approach and Pathwalker simulations were explored. The results obtained indicated the resistant kernels approach and Pathwalker simulations as the most reliable strategies in predicting the movement of animal species over the area. The results also suggest that using a habitat map instead of a land use map increases the robustness and reliability of the ecological network.
20-mar-2024
Settore AGR/10 - COSTRUZIONI RURALI E TERRITORIO AGROFORESTALE
MODICA, Giuseppe
SCHENA, Leonardo
Doctoral Thesis
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12318/144726
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