Toward forest "sprawl": monitoring and planning a changing landscape for urban sustainability

The present study analyzes the structure and dynamics of the forest landscape in a peri-urban area (Rome, Italy) during the city's expansion from 1949 to 2008 using landscape metrics and change detection analysis of digital maps of the area (1500 km(2)). While urban settlements increased continuously from 6.5 to 27.5 % of the study area, woodlands changed less clearly, with a moderate increase (from 11.2 to 11.9 % of the total area) and a higher fragmentation as a consequence of Rome's expansion. The structure of forest landscape changed along the urban-to-rural gradient with patch size increasing with the distance to the inner city in 1949 and substantial landscape homogeneity in 2008. The indicators proposed in this study inform dedicated measures for conserving forest and maintaining landscape diversity. Measures adopted in Rome's forestation plan to counteract woodland fragmentation were analyzed and discussed. Based on the complex landscape dynamics found for Rome, an integrated multiscale planning approach targeting forest conservation is considered a key contribution to urban sustainability.