La frammentazione del paesaggio: Teoria ed applicazioni

The conviction that inspires the 'Landscape fragmentation theories and application project' is that today more than ever, it is vital to study and invest in issues related to the fragmentation of the landscape. The Landscape Fragmentation, i.e. the process in which habitats are divided into increasingly small and isolated portions, cannot be analyzed from a mono-specialist perspective. On the contrary, its study involves the development of multidisciplinary insights into both urban planning and environmental sciences and the necessary synthesis into a single overview. A special thanks for the development of this three years PhD goes to the Miur, which made available the grant destined to Innovative Doctorates with industrial characterization, in implementation of the measures in support of human capital provided by the PON Research and Innovation 2014-2020. This type of PhD has involved a classic period of research at a foreign university, a period of study and research at a company that deals with activities related to the project as well. As far as my project is concerned, I have carried out my research activity both abroad, at the University of Cardiff, and at the studio of associated professionals specialized in territorial, landscape and environmental planning "Criteria s.r.l.", based in Cagliari. During the six months spent at the School of Geography and Planning, University of Cardiff (UK), I was able to deepen my knowledge of environmental policy by attending the course "Principles and Practices of Environmental Governance", a module divided into three main components complementary to each other.The "Governance Tools" have been explored through a detailed overview of how particular environmental governance mechanisms are put into practice and tested "in the field" on the basis of international case studies. During the research period at the host company, I was able to apply some methods and tools for the quantification of landscape fragmentation to a real process of protected area planning, the management plan of the site of Community interest Campo di Ozieri and Pianure between Tula and Oschiri. During the research, I noticed that the current legislation on environmental planning lacks in terms of the application of tools able to quantify the Environmental Landscape Fragmentation, and in terms of the indication of methods and interventions able to prevent its effects. In ecology, the most straightforward unit of reference is the fragment or patch, which corresponds to a portion with its own spatial, ecological and structural characteristics. Contemporary landscapes, especially in intermediate urban-rural areas, are increasingly characterized by the presence of obstacles and barriers consisting of linear infrastructure and urbanized areas. These elements are among the main determinants of environmental landscape fragmentation (FPA). In my thesis, I experimented new methods of FPA measurement useful to support the planner in the activities (1) of analysis of fragmented landscapes and (2) of the definition of defragmentation strategies. The activities of my research were developed in different stages. In the first phase of the study, we reconstructed the scientific panorama concerning FPA and its consequences on the habitats of plant and animal species and the acquisition of methods able to quantitatively evaluate the evolution of FPA in space and time. Among these, some were selected for application to specific case studies. The calculation techniques used are of great importance in the construction of these new FPA measurement methods. The most innovative analysis tools based on the used of geographic information systems enabled me to achieve equally innovative results. Finally, within the perspective of a more and more territorial coordination planning, a further principal aim of the project was to test procedures, in which the evaluation.