Phd in LANDSCAPE AND ENVIRONMENT

Thesis title: Paesaggi ed ecosistemi urbani. Rappresentazione, monitoraggio e valutazione delle forme e delle dinamiche insediative e delle infrastrutture verdi

The topic of urban forests and their ecosystem services is part of a broader framework of studies on the dynamics of urbanization, recognized as one of the most impactful global change processes of the Anthropocene, because of their ability to alter the biophysical structure of landscapes with effects that extend beyond the margins of cities, profoundly affecting ecosystems and the services provided to humans and other species. Such scenarios have reinforced both awareness of the environmental and social benefits of green areas in urban landscapes, and interest in the role played by urban ecosystems in adaptation processes; it also led the United Nations General Assembly to introduce Sustainable Development Goal 11 “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.” The 3-30-300 rule introduced by Cecil Konijnendijk and recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the European Environmental Agency and the World Health Organization (WHO) as a strategic asset for designing greener, fairer and healthier cities is also based on the same objective. The centrality and interdependence of issues related to land consumption, accessibility to public green areas, improvement of urban microclimate, and implementation of Nature Based Solutions (NBS), including afforestation interventions, has also been recognized by the recent European Nature Restoration Law (NRL) regulation, which obliges member states to zero net loss of urban green areas by 2030, ensure implementation starting Jan. 1, 2031, and have operational and standardized mapping tools. The research is funded by the National Operational Program “Urban Forests and Ecosystem Services with a focus on the Mediterranean environment,” which aims to provide useful tools to support the proper implementation of Green Infrastructure and NBS in the most environmentally and socially vulnerable landscape contexts. It involved experts and scholars engaged in projects promoted by some of the leading national research institutes working on different aspects related to urban forestation and their ecosystem services, with particular reference to the production of free and accessible cartographic services for all citizens, less experienced professionals and Public Administration (PA). The tools developed have been applied in the monitoring of two UN SDGs related to urban forestry, in the definition of the Restoration Plans prescribed in the NRL, and in the framework of Community ecosystem accounting activities conducted according to the conceptual scheme of the System of Environmental Economic Accounts - Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA). Moreover, the application on the municipality of Rome, highlights the operational nature of the tools developed to plan priority areas for urban forestation and NBS design interventions that can enhance both recreational ecosystem services and microclimate regulation. The methodologies and cartographic tools developed in this research have been published, among others, in peer-reviewed scientific journals and ISPRA institutional reports and publications and are included in the book “Postmetropoli e sistemi ecopolitani” by Professor Sandro Fabbro, as a contribution in the volume “Soil Science in Italy – 1861 to 2024” and in issue 317 of the Urbanistica Informazioni magazine. Furthermore, the digital maps have been published in the Digital Atlas of the National Environmental Information System (Sistema Informativo Nazionale Ambientale - SINA) of ISPRA and on the Web-GIS developed by the company Deda Next.