Copernicus high-resolution layers for land cover classification in Italy

The high-resolution layers (HRLs) are land cover maps produced for the entire Italian territory (approximately 30 million hectares) in 2012 by the European Environment Agency, aimed at monitoring soil imperviousness and natural cover, such as forest, grassland, wetland, and water surface, with a high spatial resolution of 20 m. This study presents the methodologies developed for the production, verification, and enhancement of the HRLs in Italy. The innovative approach is mainly based on (a) the use of available reference data for the enhancement process, (b) the reduction of the manual work of operators by using a semi-automatic approach, and (c) the overall increase in the cost-efficiency in relation to the production and updating of land cover maps. The results show the reliability of these methodologies in assessing and enhancing the quality of the HRLs. Finally, an integration of the individual layers, represented by the HRLs, was performed in order to produce a National High-Resolution Land Cover ma

Linking and Harmonizing Forest Spatial Pattern Analyses at European, National and Regional Scales for a Better Characterization of Forest Vulnerability and Resilience

The project ¿Linking and harmonizing the forests spatial pattern analyses at European, national and regional scales for a better characterization of the forests vulnerability and resilience¿ (JRC contract 382391 F1SC) covers one of the seven topics to be studied in the frame of the Regulation (EC) 2152/2003 on the monitoring of forest and environmental interactions, the so-called "Forest Focus" Regulation. It first demonstrates the application of the mathematical morphology based forest spatial pattern analysis tool developed at the Joint Research Centre (GUIDOS); it then develops one index related to potential forest vulnerability, resistance and resilience (FVRR index) on the basis of multi-criteria fuzzy modelling technics. Its final aim is to address linkages between forest spatial pattern and forest ecological functionality with emphasis on forest vulnerability, resistance, resilience. This study was conducted by a European consortium coordinated by the University of Molise (Italy) and included partners from the University of Hamburg (Germany), the European Forest Institute (Finland) and the Forest Research (United Kingdom). The overall supervision of the project and the processing of forest spatial pattern were done by the Joint Research Centre.JRC.DDG.H.7-Land management and natural hazard

Large-scale monitoring of coppice forest clearcuts by multitemporal very high resolution satellite imagery. A case study from central Italy

Reliable assessment of forest resource stock, productivity and harvesting is a commonly agreed objective of environmental monitoring programs. Distinctively, the assessment of wood harvesting has become even more relevant to evaluate the sustainability of forest management and to quantify forest carbon budget. This paper presents the development and testing of procedures for assessing forest harvesting in coppice forests by very high resolution (VHR) satellite imagery. The study area is located in central Italy over approximately 34,000 km2. A set of SPOT5 HRG multispectral images was acquired for the study years (2002–2007). Official administrative statistics of coppice clearcutswere also acquired.More than 9500 clearcuts weremapped and dated by on-screen interpretation of the SPOT5 images. In a subset of the study area various methods for semi-automatic clearcut mapping were tested by pixel- and object-oriented approaches. The following results are presented: (i) clearcut map developed by visual interpretation of the SPOT5 images resulted in high thematic (overall accuracy of 0.99) and geometric (rootmean square error of clearcut boundary delineation of 5.3 m) reliability; (ii) object-oriented approach achieved significantly better accuracy than pixel-based methods for semi-automatic classification of the coppice clearcuts; (iii) comparison between mapped clearcut area and official forest harvesting statistics proved a significant underestimation by the latter (65% of the total mapped clearcut area). A sample-based procedure exploiting VHR satellite imagery is finally proposed to correct the official statistics of coppice clearcuts.L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.sciencedirect.co

Stima spazialmente definita della produttività potenziale delle risorse agro-forestali per uso energetico: il caso di studio della regione Molise.

In questo lavoro sono riportati i risultati della stima della disponibilita di biomassa per uso energetico ottenibile dalle risorse agro-forestali a seguito dell'applicazione di criteri di sostenibilita. Le analisi sono state effettuate a due differenti scale geografiche: la prima a livello nazionale e la seconda a livello regionale, basata su strati informativi di maggior dettaglio, e con risultati aggregati a livello comunale. In entrambi i casi sono stati applicati dei vincoli alla produzione di biomassa strettamente connessi alle caratteristiche morfologiche, tecnico-strutturali e gestionali dell'area di studio e all'uso di criteri che garantiscono la sostenibilita della gestione delle risorse forestali basati sulla provvigione minimale

Colorectal Cancer Stage at Diagnosis Before vs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

IMPORTANCE Delays in screening programs and the reluctance of patients to seek medical attention because of the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 could be associated with the risk of more advanced colorectal cancers at diagnosis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was associated with more advanced oncologic stage and change in clinical presentation for patients with colorectal cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective, multicenter cohort study included all 17 938 adult patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer from March 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021 (pandemic period), and from January 1, 2018, to February 29, 2020 (prepandemic period), in 81 participating centers in Italy, including tertiary centers and community hospitals. Follow-up was 30 days from surgery. EXPOSURES Any type of surgical procedure for colorectal cancer, including explorative surgery, palliative procedures, and atypical or segmental resections. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was advanced stage of colorectal cancer at diagnosis. Secondary outcomes were distant metastasis, T4 stage, aggressive biology (defined as cancer with at least 1 of the following characteristics: signet ring cells, mucinous tumor, budding, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and lymphangitis), stenotic lesion, emergency surgery, and palliative surgery. The independent association between the pandemic period and the outcomes was assessed using multivariate random-effects logistic regression, with hospital as the cluster variable. RESULTS A total of 17 938 patients (10 007 men [55.8%]; mean [SD] age, 70.6 [12.2] years) underwent surgery for colorectal cancer: 7796 (43.5%) during the pandemic period and 10 142 (56.5%) during the prepandemic period. Logistic regression indicated that the pandemic period was significantly associated with an increased rate of advanced-stage colorectal cancer (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95%CI, 1.01-1.13; P = .03), aggressive biology (OR, 1.32; 95%CI, 1.15-1.53; P < .001), and stenotic lesions (OR, 1.15; 95%CI, 1.01-1.31; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This cohort study suggests a significant association between the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the risk of a more advanced oncologic stage at diagnosis among patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer and might indicate a potential reduction of survival for these patients

Indicators of sustainable forest management: application and assessment

Report of the international project Life ManForCBD