The Role of Managed Forest Ecosystem: An Inventory Approach
Fig. 4.1
Exemplification of IUTI tessellation stratified sampling scheme; in the background, boundaries of Italy administrative units (district level)
IUTI sampling interval and the large sample size are designed to capture and estimate land use changes from 1990 to the end commitment period with a suitable statistical accuracy. Each sample point is photo-interpreted on the basis of digital orthophotos and classified into GPG-LULUCF derived land use classes at given points in time (1990, 2008, 2012). For sample points where land use change in the forest category is detected between 1990 and 2008, as result of AF/R and D activities, the land use classification is performed also at an intermediate point in time (2000), in order to estimate, by interpolation, the annual gain/loss of forest area in different time periods (1990–2000, 2000–2008, 2008–2012). The classification of the sample set is currently completed for the years 1990, 2000 and 2008. The estimation of the area of each land use class at national level, and its breakdown by administrative districts, is performed via area proportions, based on the methodology reported by Corona et al. (2012).
Examples of estimates provided by IUTI so far are summarized in Tables 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3. Results show that:
1.
the area under different GPG-LULUCF derived land use classes is estimated with high level of statistical accuracy at country level, resulting in a standard error lower than 1 % for most classes (Table 4.1);
2.
forest land estimates at district level have high levels of statistical accuracy: the standard error is, by far, lower than 1 %, except for a few administrative units (Table 4.2);
3.
as a consequence of the points above, IUTI provides reliable estimates of areas subject to AF/R, D and FM activities (Table 4.3).
Table 4.1
IUTI land use estimates for the years 1990 and 2008
GPG-LULUCF class | IUTI land use category/subcategory | 1990 | 2008 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Area (ha) | se % | Area (ha) | se % | ||
Forest land | 1. Forest land | 9,141,355 | 0.1 | 9,653,216 | 0.1 |
Cropland | 2.1 Arable land | 11,315,217 | 0.1 | 10,056,141 | 0.1 |
2.2.1 Orchards, vineyards and nurseries | 2,682,761 | 0.3 | 3,114,765 | 0.3 | |
2.2.2 Forest plantations | 134,091 | 1.3 | 144,376 | 1.3 | |
Grassland | 3.1 Natural grassland and pastures | 2,195,754 | 0.3 | 1,874,449 | 0.3 |
3.2 Other wooded land | 1,867,138 | 0.3 | 1,991,200 | 0.3 | |
Wetlands | 4. Wetlands | 510,061 | 0.7 | 518,586 | 0.7 |
Settlements | 5. Settlements | 1,644,010 | 0.4 | 2,140,903 | 0.3 |
Other land | 6. Other land | 658,288 | 0.6 | 655,040 | 0.6 |
Table 4.2
IUTI forest land estimates at district level for the years 1990, 2000 and 2008