Exploring representation tools for mapping landscape evolution. From historical maps to satellite multispectral imagery

Climate changes are impacting the landscape in many different ways. In the alpine region, some specific locations, localized in-between the cities and main mountainous tourist destinations, are affected by landscape changes, which are especially related to the vegetation and land-use changes (e.g. transformation of a vineyard or grassland into the wood and vice versa). In this framework, new research methods and digital survey techniques are required, in the field of representation, to recognize and map the ancient features of the landscape, which can be helpful to deeper comprehend the current spatial configuration. The maps, both historical and digital, are a great resource of geo-information for monitoring historical landscapes, which are the result of a strong interrelationship between natural components and man-made interventions, over the centuries. The research, by selecting a study area in the alpine region, explores different kinds of representation tools such as historical maps, cadasters, land-cover and land-use maps, and time-series of satellite imagery, which shows the potential of maps, as a preferential tool to analyze landscape changes over time. Furthermore, the research shows how GIS tools can be used to map long-term landscape changes, by comparing the ancient spatial configuration of the selected location, shown by the old depicted cadastre, to the current configuration.