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Territorial Systems, Regional Disparities and Sustainability: Economic Structure and Soil Degradation in Italy

Author

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  • Luca Salvati

    (Consiglio per la Ricerca e la sperimentazione in Agricoltura—Centro per lo studio delle Relazioni Pianta-Suolo (CRA-RPS), Via della Navicella 2-4, I-00184 Rome, Italy)

  • Marco Zitti

    (Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali ed Economiche, Sapienza Università di Roma, P.le A. Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy)

  • Margherita Carlucci

    (Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali ed Economiche, Sapienza Università di Roma, P.le A. Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

The present study was devoted to identify the evolutionary path of a number of local systems in a Mediterranean country vulnerable to soil degradation (SD) in the last decades. A multivariate analysis was used to evaluate the socio-ecological conditions and to estimate rapidity-of-change of local systems by considering 6 bio-physical factors predisposing soil to degradation and 23 socioeconomic indicators over fifty years (1960–2010). Results indicate that systems’ development paths diverged during the investigated time period reflecting changes in the spatial organization and in the economic base of entire regions. Interestingly, economic performance and environmental quality do not seem to follow opposite trajectories. Local systems characterized by low per-capita income, agricultural specialization and population ageing, seem not to be associated with better and more stable ecological conditions. Local systems in affluent areas, featuring a mix of socioeconomic conditions with the prevalence of services in the economy and tourism specialization, showed relatively good ecological conditions and moderate-to-low SD vulnerability. Thus, affluent local systems do not necessarily reflect a higher pressure on the environment. These findings suggest that areas with a changing socio-demographic profile and a dynamic economic structure are compatible with low and stable levels of SD vulnerability.

Suggested Citation

  • Luca Salvati & Marco Zitti & Margherita Carlucci, 2014. "Territorial Systems, Regional Disparities and Sustainability: Economic Structure and Soil Degradation in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(5), pages 1-19, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:6:y:2014:i:5:p:3086-3104:d:36224
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Luca Salvati & Daniela Smiraglia & Sofia Bajocco & Tomaso Ceccarelli & Marco Zitti & Luigi Perini, 2014. "Map of Long-Term Changes in Land Sensitivity to Degradation of Italy," Journal of Maps, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 65-72, January.
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    1. Salvati, Luca & Carlucci, Margherita, 2015. "Towards sustainability in agro-forest systems? Grazing intensity, soil degradation and the socioeconomic profile of rural communities in Italy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 1-13.
    2. Luca Salvati & Agostino Ferrara & Ilaria Tombolini & Roberta Gemmiti & Andrea Colantoni & Luigi Perini, 2015. "Desperately Seeking Sustainability: Urban Shrinkage, Land Consumption and Regional Planning in a Mediterranean Metropolitan Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(9), pages 1-18, August.
    3. Zambon, Ilaria & Benedetti, Anna & Ferrara, Carlotta & Salvati, Luca, 2018. "Soil Matters? A Multivariate Analysis of Socioeconomic Constraints to Urban Expansion in Mediterranean Europe," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 173-183.
    4. Rosanna Salvia & Pere Serra & Ilaria Zambon & Massimo Cecchini & Luca Salvati, 2018. "In-Between Sprawl and Neo-Rurality: Sparse Settlements and the Evolution of Socio-Demographic Local Context in a Mediterranean Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-14, October.
    5. Yonghan Ju & So Young Sohn, 2017. "Technology Credit Scoring Based on a Quantification Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-16, June.
    6. Lorena Salazar-Llano & Marti Rosas-Casals & Maria Isabel Ortego, 2019. "An Exploratory Multivariate Statistical Analysis to Assess Urban Diversity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-27, July.
    7. Luca Salvati & Margherita Carlucci & Giuseppe Venanzoni, 2017. "Recession, resilience, local labour markets: wealthier is better?," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 177-204, July.

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