Recanatesi et al. (2026) Anthropogenic impact on peri-urban natural systems in mediterranean area: the case of Castelporziano Nature Reserve, (Rome)

Identification

• Journal: RENDICONTI LINCEI
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-02-20
• Authors: Fabio Recanatesi, Eros Caputi, Alessio Patriarca, G. Mancini, Chiara Iavarone, Raffaele Pelorosso, Maria Nicolina Ripa
• DOI: 10.1007/s12210-025-01375-9

Research Groups

• Department of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences (DAFNE), Tuscia University, Viterbo, Italy

Short Summary

This study investigates the anthropogenic impact of urbanization and land-use changes on the Castelporziano Nature Reserve, a protected peri-urban Mediterranean ecosystem. It reveals a significant decline in deciduous oak forest health and groundwater recharge due to increased impervious surfaces and excessive water withdrawals for residential and recreational uses.

Objective

• To investigate how anthropogenic pressures, primarily linked to urbanization and land-use transitions, affect the hydrological cycle within the Castelporziano Presidential Estate (CPE) and, in turn, limit the vegetative vigor and resilience of its forest ecosystems.
• To quantify the ongoing decline of oak forests and contribute to the development of integrated management strategies that reconcile urban development with ecological resilience.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Castelporziano Presidential Estate (CPE), a Mediterranean State Nature Reserve of approximately 6,000 hectares, located 20 kilometers southwest of Rome, Italy. Focus on the Palocco Channel watershed (2,744 hectares) bordering the Infernetto district.
• Temporal Scale:
  • Land-use transformations analyzed for 1954, 1968, and 2018.
  • Vegetative vigor monitoring (NDVI) conducted from 2015 to 2024.
  • Groundwater depth monitoring data from 1995 to 2023.
  • Hydrological modeling for a sample meteorological event on April 11, 2008.

Methodology and Data

• Models used:
  • FLO-2D hydrological model (for surface runoff and water accumulation).
  • GIS-based spatial analysis (for land-use evolution, soil sealing trends, and correlation with hydrological parameters).
  • Numerical modeling (for hydrological assessment and groundwater recharge patterns).
• Data sources:
  • Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery (for Normalized Difference Vegetation Index - NDVI).
  • Extensive field surveys (for NDVI calibration, canopy cover census, and observed symptoms of decline).
  • Environmental monitoring system within CPE (climatic parameters and piezometric levels from a network of wells).
  • Historical land cover data from aerial imagery and satellite observations (for 1954, 1968, 2018).
  • Historical precipitation records from the Castello meteorological station.
  • Google Earth aerial images (for photo-interpretation of residential gardens and private recreational swimming pools).
  • SIFTEC forest inventory system (for deciduous oak forest classification).

Main Results

• Deciduous oak forests (2,352 hectares, 52% of the total forested area) showed a significant reduction in photosynthetic activity.
• An average 40% decrease in photosynthetic capacity of the oak forest was observed between 2015 and 2024.
• Approximately 60 hectares (8% of the total oak canopy cover) of deciduous oaks died during the 2015–2024 observation period.
• 73% of the deciduous oak area is classified as NDVI Risk Class III (60% decrease in photosynthetic capacity), indicating a high probability (80%) of transitioning to complete vegetative failure (Risk Class IV).
• Soil sealing in the Infernetto district increased from 230 hectares in 1954 to 1,580 hectares in 2018.
• Potential aquifer recharge in the Palocco Canal watershed was reduced by approximately 20%, from 20 million cubic meters to 16 million cubic meters annually, due to increased land consumption.
• Anthropogenic groundwater withdrawals include nearly 10 million cubic meters annually for irrigating over 1,700 hectares of lawns and over 100,000 cubic meters annually for maintaining more than 700 swimming pools.
• Groundwater levels in monitoring wells E13.1 and E15 declined by approximately 1 meter and 0.5 meters, respectively, over a period of about twenty years (1995–2023).
• A specific portion of the oak stand in the Palocco Canal watershed exhibited a 37% decrease in NDVI vegetative vigor and a 27% loss of natural capital (dead trees) from 2015 to 2024.

Contributions

• Provides an evidence-based evaluation of how peri-urban land governance acts as a limiting factor for the sustainability of natural ecosystems.
• Quantifies the ongoing decline of oak forests and contributes to the development of integrated management strategies that reconcile urban development with ecological resilience.
• Establishes the Castelporziano Presidential Estate as a "sentinel landscape" for the wider Mediterranean basin, offering insights into the trade-offs between ecosystem services, anthropogenic pressure, and climate change adaptation.
• Highlights the direct correlation between urban-driven hydrological alterations and forest decline in Mediterranean peri-urban reserves.
• Demonstrates the methodological value of integrating multispectral remote sensing with field data for effective ecological monitoring and early detection of stress patterns.
• Underscores the urgent need for adaptive and cross-scalar governance frameworks that extend beyond administrative boundaries to reconcile urban development with ecosystem resilience.

Funding

• Supported by the Segretariato Generale della Presidenza della Repubblica as part of the Presidential Decree n. 69/N/2020 and subsequent amendments and supplements.

Citation

@article{Recanatesi2026Anthropogenic,
  author = {Recanatesi, Fabio and Caputi, Eros and Patriarca, Alessio and Mancini, G. and Iavarone, Chiara and Pelorosso, Raffaele and Ripa, Maria Nicolina},
  title = {Anthropogenic impact on peri-urban natural systems in mediterranean area: the case of Castelporziano Nature Reserve, (Rome)},
  journal = {RENDICONTI LINCEI},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1007/s12210-025-01375-9},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-025-01375-9}
}