GIS modelling to assess soil vulnerability: land maintenance actions in the Turin Province

The reduction of land maintenance actions has determined a need for awareness about soil conservation issues. The main consequence is an increasing soil loss due to flash flood or similar phenomena. This issue needs a new approach leading to a continuous analysis and monitoring action. The Province of Turin has developed a Strategic Project about land maintenance through a law by decree (D.G.P 1655-268964/2001), showing the lack of objective planning criteria supporting ordinary maintenance. The Province has then defined different study areas which differ for morphology, hazard and risk factors. The aim of the cooperation between Turin Province and the Faculty of Agriculture has led to a guide-line for planning and acting territorial maintenance. This paper’s aim is to describe the main steps of the development of the GIS-based methodology for potential hazard/risk assessment and land maintenance, integrating the geomorphologic and landscape ecology approaches. The attention will be focused on two benchmark areas, located in Valle Sacra and in the hillside territory near Turin, characterised by different morphological complexity. The project has moreover evolved with the aim of deepening the knowledge in soil stability monitoring through GIS modelling. Specifically, soil physical structure has been studied by evaluating its aggregate stability. In order to follow a multidisciplinary approach data obtained from the laboratory analysis has been merged with topographical information. The main objective was the study and assessment of different soil dynamics, mainly the relation between vulnerability and vegetation cover.