Green Infrastructures (GIs) are defined as strategically planned networks of natural and seminatural areas designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services. GIs are identified as one of the priorities in EU policies (e.g., the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 or the new Common Agricultural Policy strategy). This imply the develop of effective approaches for planning and mapping GIs.
In this framework we present the preliminary results of a study aimed to identify and to prioritize GI elements in rural landscapes of North-East of Italy. Two are the main project achievements: i) to identify the most important areas for natural stock and for ecological connectivity and ii) to evaluate multi-functionality by mapping a set of ecosystem services. In the first phase of this project, habitat suitability, least cost path analysis, spatial graphs and connectivity indices were combined to model a composite multi-species network (flora and fauna species) as expression of ecological connectivity for biodiversity at the landscape scale.
As a result, almost 2000 ha of core areas and more than 4000 ha of ecological corridors, connecting 8 Special Area of Conservation (Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC) and several regional protected areas, were mapped allowing to identify the most relevant green areas to support biodiversity both in the protected and non-protected areas. In order to evaluate biodiversity within the core areas, sampling field activities were carried out: 50 plots were collected using a stratified random sampling (based on habitats within core areas) and diversity elements evaluated. Furthermore, we observed that the probability of connectivity (PC) was affected by both the extension of the target habitats considered and the species behavior. Results provide a good approximation to identify important areas for biodiversity conservation.
