The basin of the river Mugnone (Tuscany, Central Italy): integration of territorial and landscape analysis on different scales

摘要

The watercourses studied are the river Mugnone and its main affluent the river Terzolle, the catchment basin of which extends for 65 km2; the Mugnone is 20 km long and the Terzolle 10 km. Intensive soil utilization has influenced significantly the distribution of the riparian vegetation, having become significantly reduced or often absent. The high levels of human activity (agricultural, urban and provision of support infrastructure) has effectively reduced and often erased the landscape elements that are linked to the presence of water courses. The object of the study was a territorial analysis of the catchment basin achieved via the integration of two methodological approaches, both based on hierarchical territory classification, one aimed at identifying land systems and land facets, the other aimed at identifying landscape units. The integration of these different analyses allowed us to trace a complete picture of the study area and enabled us to define proposals aimed at improvement of the ecosystem function and perceptive space of the freshwater landscape.