RECENT LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION IN THE TUSCAN APENNINES CAUSED BY CHANGING LAND-USE

In an extensive study the effects of changing land use on nature and landscape of the Solano Basin (eastern Tuscan Apennines) were analysed. This was done on the level of the plant communities, their site factors (climate, parent material water, soils and humus) and interactions in ecotopes, as well as on the level of the pattern of land units. The situation in 1985 has systematically been compared with the one in 1935 and the one that may be expected in 2035 if current trends continue. It is clearly shown that the fine-grained patterns of the traditional landscape are replaced by much coarser patterns. The diversity at landscape level diminishes dramatically in these mountain areas.