Geomorphological impact assessment in the River Mincio plain (Province of Mantova, Northern Italy)

This study deals with the changes in the landscape caused by human activity in the past 40 years in the sector of the River Mincio plain located between the morainic hills of Lake Garda to the north and the Mantova lakes to the south.The study includes the analysis of topographical maps and of aerial photographs taken in different years, and the compilation of geomorphological maps referring to the landscape features in 1995 and in 1955.The plain sector considered has been subjected to intense quarrying activities since the beginning of this century. The open quarries are classified as quarries exploited above the water table and trench quarries exploited below the water table. When no longer in use, the first-type quarries are reclaimed for farming after laying a pedogenised level of organic soil on their floor; the second-type quarries are abandoned or equipped for recreational fishing or in some cases used as occasional dumping sites. All these quarrying activities have caused significant landscape changes. Another aspect of human activities during the past decades concerns the construction of important artificial canals which, besides modifying the natural flow of both surface and sub-surface waters, have altered the natural morphological features of the areas affected.Urban development has also been responsible for important modifications in the landscape, especially in the vicinity of the main built-up areas.In this research a simple methodology for the assessment of the scientific quality of landforms was applied. The impact on the landscape is defined as the reduction in scientific quality due to the assessment of the deterioration produced by human activity .The study has shown that among the main human activities the most serious damage to the landscape has been caused by quarrying. The greatest impact, with over 50% loss of quality of the geomorphological assets, has occurred between Goito and Rivalta.