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In order to assess the dynamics of forests and the effectiveness of their management strategies, it is necessary to develop monitoring systems based on qualitative and quantitative tools for their conservation, valorization and restoration. This approach is particularly important for areas that have undergone intense anthropogenic transformations in the last century. In order to do this, it is first necessary to apply a chronological methodology based on historical GIS that allows the integration of different types of geodata. As a result of constantly evolving spatial analysis tools, the monitoring of landscape forest evolution is increasingly more effective and complete. Using as a case study a region representative of common processes of other Mediterranean areas (Southern Italy–Basilicata region), a diachronic analysis of 156 years was applied to evaluate the forest landscape dynamics. Starting from historical cartographies to remotely sensed data available online, a GIS-based approach was implemented to evaluate the spatial and statistical variations of the forest landscape. In this way, it was possible to assess how much, where and how the forest landscape has changed in order to provide a methodology to support more detailed and sectoral studies.

The rural built heritage constitutes a unique example, due to architectural and technical issues, which plays a central role in the formation of rural landscape. In this research, interactions between rural buildings and the surrounding land have been examined. Two case studies exemplifying some of typical dynamics of some internal mountain areas of Mediterranean region have been considered. These areas are located in Basilicata Region (Southern Italy) and suffer from land and rural buildings heritage abandonment, as well as from the concurrent disappearance of agroforestry systems with high ecological value. A multi-chronological geo-database incorporating different land cover datasets over a period of 62 years (1955–1988–2008–2017) has been implemented into a GIS to assess relationships between some rural buildings and the surrounding land have been then assessed. This has been achieved by integrating different types of remote-sensed geodata: historical aerial photos, digital orthophotos and satellite images. The analyses carried out have shown that the intensity of land abandonment can also be related to the type of rural building and prevalent agricultural activity. Moreover, thanks to this methodology, it has been possible to produce several spatial information useful to support public decisionmakers at different level.

In the last decades, Mediterranean rural landscapes have undergone significant changes, with relevant considerable environmental and socio-economic impacts. These phenomena are often triggered by agricultural abandonment, especially in environmentally-sensitive areas, which are usually located in marginal and less profitable regions, and which could indeed irremediably compromise the identity and role of these Mediterranean landscapes. On the other hand, the progressive increase of available multi-source geodata allows to reconstruct the landscape original structure, providing new tools able to prevent negative impacts on environment. Hence, thanks to the development of increasingly advanced and open-source GIS tools, it is possible to implement several geodata typologies that can be mutually integrated in an increasingly efficient approach. In this paper the process of landscape reshaping pattern is analyzed in a study area of Basilicata region (Southern Italy) using remote sensing. In particular, the vegetation component of a landscape has been assessed by means of SAR images by using an artificial intelligence approach, that is machine learning to understand landscape dynamics in two different time periods. In this way, it has been possible to integrate data of different source and composition into landscape analysis methodologies, hence developing a suitable tool for planning and managing the rural landscape.

Farm buildings constitute a witness of the economic and productive organization of a specific rural territory. Designed over the centuries in order to fulfil their primary agricultural role, they now constitute a widespread heritage, which in some cases possesses an irreplaceable architectural value. Moreover, they also play a central role for the sustainability of the rural environment, since they can influence natural and semi-natural habitats, both in terms of their structure and biodiversity. Mostly in some southern European countries, these rural structures have been built basing on agricultural needs and land characteristics. Considering the land abandonment occurred during the last centuries, most of these historical farm buildings have been abandoned, causing a possible loss of the historical-cultural heritage of the rural landscape. In this paper, the potential of a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to assess the impact of farm buildings on the surrounding agroforestry landscape has been explored with reference to a protected area of Basilicata Region, which has been considered as a case study. Through the implementation of a GIS, the land cover changes over the past 30 years—focusing mainly on the afforestation processes—have been identified and connected to the position of the geo-localized rural buildings.

The apparent features of a rural landscape are the final result of the interaction among several natural and anthropic factors. The analysis of a landscape, as well as the identification of its best management strategies, can be improved when useful information about its modifications along a wide time period is available, so as to assess the effect of the transformations that have taken place there. The implementation within a geographic information system (GIS) of geographical information derived from ancient historical maps, combined with modern digital cartography and recent remote sensing images may provide a very powerful tool for a better-informed analysis and targeted decision-making strategies about the most appropriate rural landscape planning. With the purpose to detect the land use changes in a typical rural landscape in the Basilicata Region (Southern Italy), spatial analysis using free and open-source GIS tools, in which data covering a period of about two centuries, from 1829 to 2017, were implemented. This multi-temporal analysis was carried out to investigate the landscape structure transformations through the assessment of land use change and the implementation of a methodology for the identification of areas in which there has been a natural evolution of the rural landscape. Then, using landscape metrics and spatial analysis tools, some areas in which the landscape has naturally evolved without any anthropic intervention during these 188 years have been identified, and changes occurred on the rural landscape were assessed quantitatively.

Rural land has been affected over the years by profound, complex and difficult to understand transformations due to natural events, human intervention and changes in natural cycles. Nowadays, the analysis of rural land as well as the environment and landscape is made easier and more complete through the use of powerful and reliable tools; many changes can be considered to be models of territorial development that may prove useful in the appropriate planning of interventions in a rural area. In this paper the land use changes in a rural area located in Southern Italy were analysed by comparing some historical cartographic supports produced by the Italian Geographic Military Institute at different periods over about 160 years with modern maps, in order to evaluate the morphological and vegetation variations of agro-forestry land. The results in terms of landscape modification of the study area show significant changes: the agricultural and forestry land has been affected by deep transformations. Land use and morphological changes at four time steps were conducted through the implementation of digital terrain models, which were enriched by draping land cover pictures over them; these finally enabled an evaluation in a scenic way of the morphological and vegetation variations of the agro-forestry landscape, allowing a virtual jump back to periods when digital aerial photography was not yet possible. Multitemporal analysis with the support of GIS techniques has great potential for assessing and monitoring landscape diversity and typical changes of vegetation and for planning sound interventions in landscape structures.

The purpose of the present study is a comparative analysis of the characteristics of traditional rural constructions constituted by temporary settlements for animal corrals, employed for vertical transhumance or nomadic pastoralism, spread over the mountain regions of three different Countries of the Adriatic-Ionian area, i.e., Greece, Italy and Montenegro. The main methods applied in this research were the detection and typological survey of some examples of these rural constructions located in Southern Italy, whose typical dimensions, building material and constructive technologies were detected and analysed. Major findings of the research have been the identification of some similarities connecting architecture and building material of these constructions, which revealed common technologies applied by people from different countries that, despite different socio-economical and cultural traditions, have employed similar techniques, implementing simple but very effective constructive building principles. Main conclusions are connected to the possible restoration of these constructions that, designed over the centuries in order to fulfil their primary agricultural role, now constitute a widespread cultural heritage with a significant architectural value, influencing the agricultural environment and the visual perception of its landscape that, within the current re-discover of the agricultural heritage, may play a central role, even though new activities related to rural tourism.

The current characteristics of a rural landscape may be better understood if suitable information related to its past is available. The availability of a Geographical Information System (GIS) can enable the analysis of landscape features in relation to several aspects, e.g., the evolution and mutual inter-relation among different ecosystems, the impact and sustainability of human activities, the visual characteristics of a landscape, etc. The analysis of geographical information, derived from historical maps, within a GIS could, therefore, prove to be a very powerful tool, for a better-informed decision-making and management of a rural landscape. With the aim to identify the land use changes in a rural area located in the Basilicata Region (Southern Italy), a territorial analysis was conducted through a GIS, in which data taken from historical maps—covering a period of 184 years, from 1829 to 2013—were implemented. Three-dimensional reconstruction of the rural landscape during different periods were obtained through digital terrain models (DTM). The land cover changes were also evaluated, demonstrating how they have affected the quality of the forest ecosystem in the area. The final results that were obtained comparing historical documents and current maps enabled the evaluation of the multi-temporal, morphological, and vegetation variations in this rural landscape. The analysis that was conducted has great potential for assessing and monitoring landscape diversity and typical changes of vegetation, even in different geographical locations, where appropriate interventions in landscape structures may be so planned.

Over the centuries, farm buildings, which accompany the development of agriculture, have played an important role in defining spatial and environmental planning. In some European countries in particular, these rural structures have been built based on traditional agricultural needs and typical land characteristics. Considering the land abandonment that has occurred over the last five decades, with farmers moving to more comfortable residences in neighboring urban settlements, historical farm buildings have often been abandoned, thus causing a leakage of the historical-cultural heritage of the rural landscape. Nowadays, open data and geographic technologies together with advanced technological tools allow us to gather multidisciplinary information about the specific characteristics of each farm building, thus improving our knowledge. This information can greatly support the protection of those buildings and landscapes that have high cultural and naturalistic value. In this paper, the potential of Geographic Information Systems to catalogue the farm buildings of the Basilicata region (Southern Italy) is explored. The analysis of these buildings, traditionally known as masserie, integrates some typical aspects of landscape studies, paving the way for sustainable management of the important cultural heritage represented by vernacular farm buildings and the rural landscape.

A rural landscape is the result of the interaction among natural elements and human activities which takes place in time and space. It represents a non-renewable resource that can provide incomparable information on the general state of the environment. The rapid transformations that are taking place in the last century push towards the implementation of monitoring actions able to take into account the various components of the land use, including their concurrent time evolution as well. We performed an analysis of temporal transformations of a rural landscape using an open-source GIS approach that allowed for mainstreaming of the main features of this rural landscape, i.e. land use patterns, naturalness dynamics, landscape diversity and visual quality. These four parameters have been selected since they represent those which most affect the processes at the base of the environmental planning and management of a rural landscape. The survey has been carried out over a period of 138 years, using historical maps, interpretation of aerial photos and implementing digital cartography, that have been retrieved with reference to a study area located in the Basilicata Region (southern Italy), which is considered a territory with an high rural – i.e., both natural and agricultural - landscape value. This methodology has allowed for the examination of the landscape from different points of view, experimenting the performance of a multi-temporal and inter-disciplinary analysis. The main results show – since the landscape has been completely transformed by man in terms of land use – that the areas covered in the past by forest have been transformed into agricultural areas, as opposed to some areas where re-naturalisation processes have taken place. Starting from this first analysis, the implemented methodology, based on a multidisciplinary approach, has enabled to identify the transformations which have greatly influenced the time evolution of the study area. The resulted assessment of land use patterns, landscape diversity, naturalness dynamics and visual quality of this study area, thus enables suitable strategies for the restoration of the local rural ecosystems.

New technologies could be adequately introduced for an improved analysis aimed to the sustainable management and planning of the rural land, as well as its environment and landscape. Nowadays, this analysis is easier and more complete through the use of powerful and reliable tools. Several changes can be considered to be as models of territorial development, useful for an appropriate planning of the human interventions in a rural area. Remote sensing techniques could be employed for the monitoring of agricultural land variation, while Geographical Information Systems are excellent tools for landscape modeling and three-dimensional analysis. In this chapter, land-use changes in a rural area located in southern Italy were analyzed by comparing some historical cartographic supports with modern maps, in order to evaluate the morphological and vegetation variations of the agroforestry land during time. Moreover, a landscape analysis was conducted through the implementation of digital terrain models, which were enriched by draping land cover pictures over them. These elaborations finally enabled an evaluation in a scenic way of the aesthetic quality of the agroforestry landscape, allowing a virtual jump back to time periods when digital aerial photography was not yet even possible. This multi-temporal analysis with the support of GIS techniques revealed to have a great potential for assessing and managing landscape diversity and changes of vegetation, as well as for planning sound interventions over the landscape structures.

A review of agricultural plastic waste generation and consolidation in Europe is presented. A detailed geographical mapping of the agricultural plastic use and waste generation in Europe was conducted focusing on areas of high concentration of agricultural plastics. Quantitative data and analysis of the agricultural plastic waste generation by category, geographical distribution and compositional range, and physical characteristics of the agricultural plastic waste per use and the temporal distribution of the waste generation are presented. Data were collected and cross-checked from a variety of sources, including European, national and regional services and organizations, local agronomists, retailers and farmers, importers and converters. Missing data were estimated indirectly based on the recorded cultivated areas and the characteristics of the agricultural plastics commonly used in the particular regions. The temporal distribution, the composition and physical characteristics of the agricultural plastic waste streams were mapped by category and by application. This study represents the first systematic effort to map and analyse agricultural plastic waste generation and consolidation in Europe.