Indexing: Web of Science (ESCI), Scopus (CiteScore: 1.2)
Indexing: Web of Science (ESCI), Scopus (CiteScore: 1.2)
Article Peer-Reviewed
Evaluation of Environmental Impacts Related to Land Use Modification in the Central Apennines of Italy
1
DISTA, Università degli Studi eCampus, 22060 Novedrate, Italy
2
Struttura Commissariale Sisma 2016, 00187 Roma, Italy
3
DIISM, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
*
For correspondence.
Academic Editor:
Highlights of Sustainability, 2025, 4(4),
240–255.
https://doi.org/10.54175/hsustain4040015
Received: 18 June 2025 Accepted: 22 October 2025 Published: 29 October 2025
Abstract
Land use modification in mountain regions represents a fundamental driver of socio-ecological transformation, reflecting the continuous negotiation between natural processes and human agency. Rather than merely describing degradation or recovery, this study aims to quantify how multiple ecological dimensions interact through land use change, proposing a synthetic framework capable of operationalizing these trade-offs at the landscape scale. While there is a widespread narrative that associates land use modifications with ecological degradation, there is also a growing recognition of the positive role that human activities can play in shaping and sustaining biodiversity. Traditional practices such as transhumance pastoralism, agriculture, and agroforestry have historically contributed to a sustainable management of the territories and to the creation of mosaic landscapes that support a wide array of species and habitats. Within Mediterranean mountain systems, sustainable outcomes have in fact historically arisen from a specific subset of human-land use accommodations that maintain functional heterogeneity, such as rotational agro-pastoralism sustaining nutrient cycling and grassland renewal; terraced and mixed agroforestry systems mitigating erosion and regulating hydrology; low-intensity cropping and mosaic management maintaining edge habitats and pollinator networks. This study investigates the long-term environmental impacts of land use change in the Central Apennines (Italy) from 1950 to 2020. We develop and apply a Composite Environmental Index (ΔEI) integrating five indicators: biodiversity, carbon sequestration, water availability, fire risk, and soil degradation, to assess the ecological effects of landscape transformation. The results show that unmanaged reforestation following land abandonment has led to a net decline in environmental quality (ΔEI = −0.27), particularly in low- to mid-elevation zones, since the gain in CO2 sequestration potential due to increased forest cover outweighed by declines in biodiversity, reduced water availability, heightened fire risk, and marked soil degradation. Spatial heterogeneity is significant: while carbon storage improved, negative trends in biodiversity and ecosystem function dominate. It also outlines that passive rewilding strategies may be insufficient in historically managed landscapes in comparison with active, context-specific management aligned with Nature-based Solutions. The ΔEI framework offers a replicable model for integrated land planning and ecological restoration in Mediterranean mountain systems. Recognizing that both extractive intensification and complete abandonment disrupt the ecological equilibrium allows us to distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive pathways of landscape evolution, a key step toward generalizing lessons beyond the Apennine context.
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Keywords
land use change; environmental impact; composite index; rewilding; Mediterranean mountains; cultural landscapes; Nature-based Solutions
Copyright © 2025
Marchetti et al. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use and distribution provided that the original work is properly cited.
Funding
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Cite this Article
Marchetti, B., Castelli, G., & Corvaro, F. (2025). Evaluation of Environmental Impacts Related to Land Use Modification in the Central Apennines of Italy. Highlights of Sustainability, 4(4), 240–255. https://doi.org/10.54175/hsustain4040015
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