Diachronic analysis (1954–2010) of transformations of the dune habitat in a stretch of the Northern Tyrrhenian Coast (Italy)

The aim of this work is the diachronic analysis, over the past 60 years, of the vegetation changes in dune environments of a stretch of Tuscan coast. Aerial photos of the years 1954 and 2010 were compared using photointerpretation and GIS software, and phytosociological surveys in the field were carried out. In addition to the spatial dynamics of the identified phytocoenoses, we have analyzed the different degrees of anthropogenic alteration of the examined area by the development of a synthetic index already used in neighboring contexts. The results showed with respect to the past, a deep morphological transformation of the dune system, and a consequent high spatial contraction and fragmentation of psammophilous plant communities. Today, indexed values of anthropogenic alteration, although particularly high especially when compared historically, are mitigated by the marginal and punctiform permanence, in few of those dune areas spared from urban infrastructure, of the main psammophilous plant associations typical of Tyrrhenian coasts