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Agricultural production plays an important role in the global economy, contributing greatly to the supply of food resources and human well-being. Mapping the areas of agricultural coverage and calculating their respective average annual production values is useful for orienting food security strategies, in a context of climate change and a growing global population. Despite their importance, today no complete and updated maps exist for all types of crops. To provide this critical data lack, we have harmonized statistical datasets at a regional level of detail across Europe (EU-27) to develop a unified dataset consisting of the best available data in the context of agricultural monitoring activities carried out by the CREA. This document illustrates the methodologies adopted to create an harmonized database and an open and easy-to-use cartographic atlas of agricultural area and production, based on accessible, interoperable and reusable data available from Eurostat. The availability of detailed maps of area and crop production at a regional level can help optimize a wide range of agricultural monitoring, ranging from early warning on phytopathological conditions, to assessment of crop conditions, to production forecasts and the assessment of damage caused by extreme weather events, agricultural statistics, agricultural insurance and climate mitigation and adaptation actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution reports the results of the application of the JRC guidelines to identify Italian agricultural areas, other than mountain areas, facing significant natural constraints (Areas with Natural Constraints -- ANCs). Spatial analysis has been carried out to integrate climatic, soil, terrain and agricultural data. The latter were integrated with administrative boundaries to classify each municipality as ANC if at least one biophysical criterion was relevant. We report maps, tables and graphs of the Italian ANCs defined by biophysical criteria depicting the new geography where agricultural activities might face significant natural constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Availability of up-to-date geographic datasets, including the information voluntarily created by ordinary people, is crucial for disaster management in areas affected by catastrophic events and humanitarian crises. OpenStreetMap (OSM) is the most popular Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) project that has been extensively used for collaborative mapping in areas affected by natural disasters. This article provides an overview on how OSM data are exploited in disaster response scenarios and illustrates their specific application during the recent Italian earthquakes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]