Analisi della naturalità del mosaico territoriale in Sicilia

Abstract

A new index (NEI - Naturalness Evaluation Index) is applied in order to evaluate the landscape degree of conservation and naturalness. Land mosaic has been classified into four different levels of conservation, taking into account the relative influence of natural processes and anthropic activities. Fitocoenoses structure and floristic composition are used as indicators. As a case study Sicily (Italy) was chosen. The methodology has been applied to reclassify Corine Land Cover data and obtain a Naturalness map. The area of study has been divided into reference units (municipalities) and the index has been calculated for each land unit. The index has proved to be very useful for visualising the state of conservation and giving a general idea of human impact on landscape.