The Mediterranean coasts are threatened by human activities that cause changes and alterations in the vegetation. This study aims to assess the impact of urbanisation on the conservation status of EEC Directive 43/92 habitats. We used all polygons in the range 0-200 m above sea level. Using QGIS, we calculated the distance in metres between the vegetation relevés of the habitats and the centre of the polygons coded as urban. A total of 73 vegetation relevés were carried out, which allowed us to recognise 13 revealing habitats. The total diversity of plant species per habitat was measured with the H-index used to assess naturalness (N), considering native, alien and disturbance species differently. The analysis showed that the highest values of H⁺ were found in habitats 1430, 2110 and 2240 while lower values were observed in habitats 2270*, 2250*,2210. The results showed that habitats 2270* and 2250*, which are closer to urban centres, show a lower naturalness value than habitats 1210, 1240, 2110 and 2240, with higher naturalness values and therefore a low disturbance. This methodology can be used by managers to identify the most sensitive coastal dunes and implement a conservation strategy.
Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, Italy - ORCID: 0009-0002-2087-6731
Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-0120-190X
Agricultural Technical Institute "V. Emanuele II", Italy - ORCID: 0009-0006-4370-0375
Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-7700-841X
Chapter Title
A methodological approach to assessing the conservation status of coastal habitats: the case study of Calabria (Southern Italy)
Authors
Antonio Morabito, Carmelo Musarella, Giuseppe Caruso, Giovanni Spampinato
Language
Italian
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0556-6.23
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Tenth International Symposium Monitoring of Mediterranean Coastal Areas: Problems and Measurement Techniques
Book Subtitle
Livorno (Italy) 11th-13th June 2024
Editors
Laura Bonora, Marcantonio Catelani, Matteo De Vincenzi, Giorgio Matteucci
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0556-6
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0556-6
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-0557-3
Series Title
Monitoring of Mediterranean Coastal Areas: Problems and Measurement Techniques
Series E-ISSN
2975-0288