Land Consumption Impact on Erosion Control Services in Italy, 2012-2018

Italy's national assessment of ecosystem services quantifies the impact of land consumption on soil erosion control. The study, conducted by ISPRA, uses high-resolution land cover data from Copernicus and applies the RUSLE formula and InVEST model. Results indicate land consumption growth of 31,500 hectares between 2012 and 2018 is associated with an economic loss exceeding 2.4 billion euros per year.

Use Cases

• Modeling soil erosion rates based on land cover change scenarios described in the study.
• Estimating the economic cost of lost erosion control services using the replacement cost method mentioned.
• Analyzing the relationship between land consumption growth and ecosystem service provision in Italy.
• Supporting land protection policies with biophysical and economic valuation data as described.

Strengths

• Based on high-resolution land cover products from the Copernicus-Land Monitoring Services programme.
• Provides specific economic loss figures: over 2.4 billion euros/year associated with 31,500 hectares of land consumption.
• Applies established methodologies: RUSLE formula, transport function, and the InVEST model.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA)

Collection Method

Modeling based on high-resolution land cover scenarios for 2012 and 2018, using RUSLE and InVEST.

Time Range

2012-2018

Geography

Italy