Land-use modifications and ecological implications over the past 160 years in the central Apennine mountains

Today’s Mediterranean landscapes result from the interaction between ecosystems and anthropogenic activities. This study aims to assess how land-use changes mid-nineteenth end of twentieth century influenced temporal continuity in central Apennines (central Italy). Information was acquired Gregorian cadastral maps, orthophotos aerial photos (1850, 1954, 1980 2010), digitised georeferenced using QGIS 3.10.1 software. Marked types were found. From 1850 grasslands widely transformed into arable lands, but next 60 years they changed again new forests. Forests underwent a slow continuous expansion 2010. Only small percentage forest grassland patches (14 16%, respectively) have seen ecological continuity. These considerations call attention ecosystems, together with historical dynamism landscapes, defining land management nature conservation policies.