Naturalness Consumption and Biodiversity in an Ecoregion of Central Italy

Abstract

Landscape naturalness and landscape biodiversity are closely connected with ecosystem sustainability. In this study, “naturalness consumption” and “induced biodiversity” created by human interference were evaluated in an ecoregion of Central Italy that represents a meaningful local example of land-use pattern in a Mediterranean environment. A core set of selected indicators and indexes applied to the database produced by GIS was used first to evaluate the landscape naturalness for each phyto-climatic unit and then to calculate the naturalness consumption. Moreover, the landscape biodiversity of each phyto-climate was evaluated, considering the ecomosaic space organization and taking into account the presence of some important ecological structures like ecotones and hedges. In the naturalness analysis, the highest naturalness consumption occurred in phyto-climates with a higher presence of cultivated areas. In the biodiversity analysis, the phyto-climates with a lower naturalness and a higher presence of agricultural land showed higher values of landscape biodiversity in comparison with the other phyto-climatic units. The results suggest that biodiversity in agro-ecosystems can compensate for naturalness consumption in terms of landscape sustainability. Indeed, natural landscapes carry out a conservative role, while more bio-diverse landscapes offer a balance between human requirements and native ecosystem conditions in a frame of co-evolutionary development.