Carbon stock as an indicator for the estimation of anthropic pressure on territorial components

Since the beginning of the industrial era, humans have been modifying the chemical composition and physical properties of the atmosphere, favoring an increase in the concentration of gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrogen oxide (N2O) well beyond the limits never previously exceeded [1]. If there is still uncertainty in the world and in some cases scepticism about the real extent of environmental or climate change, the increase in the concentration of these gases shows that humans are actually changing, heavily, the environment [2]. Growing disquiet of the scientific community about phenomena linked to climate modification and land use changes, to which they are often due or at least related, has led to the need to strengthen the levels of information and develop methodologies capable of constituting an adequate framework to support policies for territorial planning and land use transformation that can boast a holistic view of services and functions that are indispensable and/or desirable for human wellbeing. It is precisely in this context that this work is aimed at providing an estimate of the amount of carbon stored within the boundaries of the Basilicata region, no longer referring to it as an estimated quantity for its own sake, but as an assessment of a service provided by ecosystems for the regulation of the global climate that has gained increasing strength over the last 50 years [3].