A GIS-based approach to monitor and assess historical forest landscape evolution

In order to assess landscape dynamics, as well as the effectiveness of relevant management strategies, it is necessary to develop monitoring systems based on qualitative and quantitative tools for its conservation, valorisation and restoration. This approach is particularly important for historical rural landscapes having a recognized ecological and cultural value. To do this, it is first necessary to apply a chronological methodology since, by definition, landscapes result from an interaction of natural and anthropogenic factors over time. Thanks to the constant evolution of Geographic Information Systems and of different geodata available, the monitoring of historical landscapes is increasingly effective and inclusive. Using as a case study an historical forest landscape recognized at Italian level for its high value (Lucanian Apennines’s beech forest - Basilicata Region), a diachronic analysis was applied to evaluate its multi-temporal evolution. Starting from historical cartographies up to Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, a GIS-based approach was implemented to evaluate the spatial variations of forest cover in this landscape. The techniques applied have allowed to reconstruct the original structure of the beech forests, useful for a possible restoration in some areas, but also to monitor the processes in place by using vegetation indices derived from remote sensing.