Analisi della composizione e della struttura spaziale del paesaggio in ambiente di duna costiera. Il caso della costa molisana.

Although coastal dune vegetation is considered among the most vulnerable ecosystems in the world, studies at landscape scale are still very rare. In this study we analyse landscape composition and spatial patterns of Molise coastal dune systems in relation to the conservation status. A land cover maps was derived from ortho-photographs and field surveys and then digitalised in a Geographic Information System. The land cover map (scale 1 : 5000) of the Molise coast was produced with the CORINE legend expanded to a fourth level of detail for natural and semi-natural areas. Composition indexes (typologies number and relative abundance) and spatial pattern indexes (parameters for each class and analysis of contacts between mapped categories) were calculated. In particular, we compared three sample areas (of 1 km in length x 350 m width along the coastal line) with different disturbance levels. Results showed a good correlation between indexes values and the conservation status of dune ecosystems. Under natural conditions, landscape is characterized by a mosaic of communities distributed along the dune profile (from the seashore to the inland stabilized dunes), however, low and medium levels of disturbance modify this spatial zonation. The proposed methodology offers useful information for system monitoring and could be effectively applied in projects related to the sustainable management of coastal ecosystems.