Simulating Brown hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas) dispersion: a tool for wildlife management of wide areas

The second half of the 20th century was characterised by intense processes of urbanisation, industrialisation and agricultural mechanisation, leading to a fragmentation of the agricultural and forest landscape. This, in turn, reduced the bio-permeability of the territory and affected the dispersion of many wild species. Brown hare (Lepus europeus) dispersion is dramatically affected by habitat fragmentation, presence of predators, intense tillage and elevated hunting pressure. Consequently, the only stable populations of hare are often in no-hunting areas where wildlife management is efficient. It is necessary, therefore, to identify not only additional areas suitable for reproduction, but also the most suitable dispersion pathways for hares, in order to optimise management. In the present study, by means of a Geographic Information System (GIS), a deterministic hare suitability model was developed on the basis of a multicriterial approach and fuzzy logic. Subsequently, a fiction surface was derived from the suitability map in order to describe the land bio-permeability. Finally, on the basis of species potential, the spread of hares from stable population areas (source areas) to the remaining territory was simulated. The area of study was the province of Viterbo (central Italy). The suitability map showed good discrimination ability (ROC=0.705). The hare dispersion simulation map allowed the potential spreading of this species throughout the provincial territory to be analysed. Isolated or less connected zones were highlighted, allowing the distribution of habitat enhancements, and/or the institution of new no-hunting areas devoted to the reproduction and consequent spread of hares throughout the territory, to be localised. The presented flexible and reiterable methodology could prove useful for wildlife management and hunting planning over a wide area. It would thus provide an important contribution to reducing the importance of animal translocation and favouring an increase in native resources spontaneously spreading throughout a territory. In a more general sense, this study is in accordance with the sustainable land management perspective, meeting the requirements of environmental protection, without compromising the anthropic development of non-urban areas

Second law of thermodynamics and urban green infrastructure – A knowledge synthesis to address spatial planning strategies

Planning strategies driven by the second law of thermodynamics (SLT) are innovative approaches to sustainability but they are still in seminal phase. In this article, a coupled review of SLT within spatial planning is accomplished looking at the main applications in urban green infrastructure (UGI) planning. In particular, a systemic review of UGI planning and thermodynamics has been carried out to identify all the occurrences to date in the scientific literature. Secondly, a scoping review of SLT-related concepts of exergy, entropy and urban metabolism is presented in order to investigate the main applications of, and gaps in, urban spatial planning. Results indicate that UGI and ecosystem service planning based on SLT is a relatively new field of research. Moreover, some general indications are derived for the development of spatial UGI planning strategies based on SLT. The work then aims to contribute to the improvement and/or development of even more solid planning strategies supporting a SLTconscious green transition of cities

The sustainability of the urban system from a hydrological point of view: a practice planning proposal

Environmental protection issues are often considered as a toll to be paid and not as a proactive development engine in urban planning. The issue of green areas needs to be re-interpreted as a real infrastructure, which is able to provide tangible benefits to the health and safety of citizens. These aspects represent fundamental issues of the applied research, which should explore methods and techniques able to provide the ecological concerns with the ability to operate efficiently. This paper aims to provide an answer to these questions focusing the attention on the greenery in the city and on one of its most important ecosystem services, which is mitigation of flooding events. The experimentation was carried out in an urban area, verifying, in quantitative terms, the role of the green, engineered with some SUDS, to mitigate the hydrological alteration that the urban development involves. Finally, two proposals have been presented to move from traditional planning based on normative standards to a more flexible, site-specific performance-based planning

The sustainability of the urban system from a hydrological point of view: a practice planning proposal

Environmental protection issues are often considered as a toll to be paid and not as a proactive development engine in urban planning. The issue of green areas needs to be re-interpreted as a real infrastructure, which is able to provide tangible benefits to the health and safety of citizens. These aspects represent fundamental issues of the applied research, which should explore methods and techniques able to provide the ecological concerns with the ability to operate efficiently. This paper aims to provide an answer to these questions focusing the attention on the greenery in the city and on one of its most important ecosystem services, which is mitigation of flooding events. The experimentation was carried out in an urban area, verifying, in quantitative terms, the role of the green, engineered with some SUDS, to mitigate the hydrological alteration that the urban development involves. Finally, two proposals have been presented to move from traditional planning based on normative standards to a more flexible, site-specific performance-based planning

Tetti verdi multistrato per lo sviluppo sostenibile di città resilienti: quattro casi studio italiani

Negli ultimi anni le inondazioni in ambito urbano sono state sempre più frequenti, provocando notevoli danni sia livello sociale che a livello economico. Questo fenomeno è in parte determinato da un aumento di urbanizzazione causato dalla crescita della popolazione, che tende sempre più a spostarsi dalle zone rurali alle aree urbane, che si espandono molto velocemente, spesso con infrastrutture idrauliche inadeguate. Inoltre, a causa di cambiamenti climatici, soprattutto nelle aree mediterranee, si può osservare un aumento di lunghi periodi di siccità, intervallati da piogge di breve durata, ma di sempre più forte intensità e frequenza. La presenza di questi fenomeni di pioggia intensa, in un ambiente altamente urbanizzato, determina un forte rischio di inondazione urbana. I tetti verdi, detti anche tetti giardino, sono stati ampiamente studiati come possibile soluzione di ingegneria naturalistica per ridurre il deflusso superficiale generato dalla presenza di tetti, trattenendo una frazione della precipitazione nello strato di terreno. Oltre alla significativa capacità di mitigazione del deflusso urbano, i tetti verdi presentano molteplici vantaggi in diversi ambiti: per esempio la presenza di queste strutture garantisce una riduzione della temperatura media dell’ambiente circostante, riducendo così l’effetto di isola di calore, che caratterizza le grandi città moderne. I tetti verdi, inoltre, garantiscono un isolamento termico per gli edifici sottostanti, favorendo il risparmio di energia per il funzionamento di impianti di climatizzazione e riscaldamento. Da un punto di vista ecologico, i tetti verdi riproducono parzialmente un ambiente naturale: assorbono CO2 e attraggono diverse specie di insetti e piccoli animali, facilitando così l’aumento della biodiversità. Infine, aumentano il valore estetico della città e possono essere utilizzate per attività ricreative, migliorando il benessere della comunità. Tra le varie tipologie di tetti verdi, quelli multistrato presentano uno strato aggiuntivo che permette di raccogliere l’acqua che percola dallo strato di terreno, stoccarla e utilizzarla in un secondo momento per diversi usi in cui non viene richiesta acqua potabile (come ad esempio l’irrigazione di giardini domestici o il lavaggio delle strade). Il presente lavoro illustra i risultati preliminari del progetto “the Polder Roof field lab”, nell’ambito del quale alcuni prototipi di tetti verdi multistrato proposti dalla compagnia olandese MetroPolder Company sono stati installati in 4 città italiane (Fig.1, Cagliari, Palermo, Perugia e Viterbo) al fine di valutare le potenzialità di questa “nature-based solution” in un clima Mediterraneo, soprattutto in termini di riduzione del deflusso superficiale durante eventi intensi di pioggia e di isolamento termico per l’edificio sottostante.Nello specifico, questo contributo ha, dunque, l’obiettivo di presentare le caratteristiche dei quattro casi studio, discutendo, sulla base dei risultati preliminari, le possibili linee di ricerca future. Le analisi preliminari, condotte studiando le misure di deflusso e di temperatura durante il periodo invernale da dicembre 2020 a marzo 2021, sottolineano l’elevata capacità di ritenzione durante eventi di pioggia intensi e la capacità di mitigazione dell’escursione termica giornaliera ottenibili con l’utilizzo di queste tecnologie

Verde urbano e processi ambientali: per una progettazione di paesaggio multifunzionale

Urbanization phenomena, associated with soil sealing, can lead to an increase in surface runoff, environmental pollution and ecosystems degradation with risks to human health and economic losses by floods. Then, new urban development strategies and land management models are essential. The European Union Water Framework Directive (2000) requires Member States to draw up efficient measures to ensure sustainable use of water resources. Several Best Management Practices (BMPs) were developed at this aim. BMPs are usually multifunctional structures (e.g. wetland and green roofs) that can provide suitable Habitat for species and bring to the maintenance of biodiversity, allow climate regulation by evaporation and adsorption of solar radiation together with aesthetic/amenity, recreational and educational benefits, enhancing the urban quality of life and social interaction. However, especially in Italy, the full integration of BMPs in territorial planning and urban (re-) design is not fully realized yet. The control of water quality and quantity has often been realized by isolated and localized interventions (e.g. detention/infiltration basins) without a “smart” and systemic project based on a holistic environmental sustainability concept. Through an application of a synthetic index for urban permeability assessment (RIE Index), this paper presents a systemic approach to urban green planning to reduce surface runoff in a pilot area of Bari city, increasing soil permeability and reducing hydraulic risk. This green and sustainable storm water management approach would be able to furnish environmental benefits and services to the citizens, enhancing quality of life in urban contexts

Take advantage of the black swan to improve the urban environment

The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus for all humanity is a typical example of the birth of the black swan, a metaphor that indicates the event of very low probability, therefore unpredictable and a source of crisis. Statistics and probability theory teach that any deterministic hypothesis of forecasting this type of event is a chimera. More concretely, it is necessary to pay attention to the resilience of the system, so the goal must be the robustness (and perhaps even anti-fragility) of the socio-ecosystem with respect to any crisis advent, not the pursuit of the specific black swan, which, by the way, takes different forms: from financial perfect storms to pandemics, to the unpredictable effects of climate change etc. During the nineteenth century Europe was involved in various pandemics, which, among other things, stimulated the birth of regulatory plans and “hygienist” urban planning approach. Similarly, the present bursting of COVID-19 leads to ever greater efforts in the direction of environmental quality, which is also the protection of health. The paper refers to the health risk due to the urban characteristics, investigating the process of Urban Heat Island (UHI) which is a cause of health risk and of the increase in air pollution, while, at the moment, there is debate about the link between air pollution and COVID-19 diffusion, also if the first scientific papers on this topic seem to confirm the correlation. In any case, the precautionary principle pushes to take the opportunity of the crisis for a more sustainable city in terms of air breathing and wellness. This paper shows that it is possible to distinguish areas of the city with different UHI-air pollution hazard, according to their shape and land use. These results allow to support the choices of the planners to pursue mitigation of climatic extremes and air pollution, contributing to health of citizens and saving money from the health system