Land use change in Italian lowlands: a lesson of landscape transformation, climate change and hydrological extremes

The abundancy of fresh water resources has historically made lowlands the epicentres of our society. Still today, European lowlands are among the most important hotspots of settlements, industrial and agricultural production. The Po river valley in northern Italy presents a relevant storyline of increasing anthropogenisation of an important lowland society, reflecting the interplay of land transformation, climate and hydrological extremes. This chapter explores land use change (LUC) occurring in the Po valley since the last century, demonstrating trends of urbanisation (specifically urban sprawl or ‘città diffusa’ in Italian), industrialisation and transformations to the agro-hydraulic systems. An in-depth case study is presented, offering a quantification of historical LUC on hydrological extremes such as floods and drought, challenging the capacity of manmade hydraulic infrastructure. In fact it is demonstrated that historical LUC has aggravated the changing climatic conditions over the same period – highlighting the need for sustainable future management plans for land and water management.