CONSUMO DI SUOLO E SEQUESTRO DI CARBONIO NELLA REGIONE SARDEGNA: UNO STUDIO BASATO SULL’UTILIZZO DEL NORMALIZED DIFFERENCE VEGETATION INDEX

Abstract

LAND-TAKING AND CARBON SEQUESTRATION PROCESSES IN THE
SARDINIAN REGION: A STUDY BASED ON THE USE OF THE
NORMALIZED DIFFERENCE VEGETATION INDEX
Abstract
This article studies the interaction between land-taking processes and carbon sequestration,
which is considered a service generated by natural ecosystems, and tentatively defines an
interpretation of such interdependence, which is applied to the environmental context of
Sardinia, one of the two Italian major islands. Through CORINE Land Cover the land cover
features are identified and characterized. Data are made available by the Environment
Agency of the European Union in terms of land cover themes and time series. Through the
Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), carbon capture and storage spatial
distribution and its relations with land take are investigated. The results entail important
implications concerning planning policies aimed at mitigating land-taking processes and
protection and enhancement of carbon sequestration. In particular, the direct proportionality
between carbon sequestration and land take identifies the environmental protection policies
based on the Natura 2000 Network as leading tools to implement effective planning
approaches focused on the use of ecosystem services provided by the soil to mitigate the
negative impacts of climate changes.

Keywords: carbon capture and storage, land-taking process, linear regression