DIACHRONIC LANDSCAPE CHANGES: A CASE STUDY ON S-E SICILY SALT MARSHES

The SIMBIOTIC project, implemented within the Operative Programme Italy-Malta 2007-2013, aims to increase the ecological connectivity between the Maltese Islands and the south-eastern Sicily, carrying out studies for the management of protected areas and environmental restoration (1), as well as to disseminate knowledge and awareness on natural heritage conservation (2). Within project planned activities a pilot project of environmental restoration was realized on some biotopes as salt marshes in Sicily and Mediterranean scrub in Gozo. To this end, a diachronic analysis has been developed in order to monitor and quantify landscape changes in coastal areas of SE Sicily, mainly in Pachino territory where the SCI “Pantani della Sicilia sud-orientale” (SE Sicily salt marshes) is located.