Disentangling Management and Climate Drivers in an Anthropogenic Transitional Mediterranean Coastal Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystem.

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Title: Disentangling Management and Climate Drivers in an Anthropogenic Transitional Mediterranean Coastal Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystem.
Authors: Alessandrino, Luigi1 (AUTHOR) luigi.alessandrino@unicampania.it, Colombani, Nicolò2 (AUTHOR), Usai, Alessio3 (AUTHOR), Mastrocicco, Micòl1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Remote Sensing. Jun2026, Vol. 18 Issue 11, p1738. 21p.
Subjects: Salinization, Anthropogenic effects on nature, Ecosystem management, Effect of salt on plants, Remote sensing, Aquatic ecology, Climate change
Geographic Terms: Southern Europe, Italy, Campania (Italy)
Abstract: Highlights: What are the main findings? Vegetation salinity stress per unit flooded area tripled at Le Soglitelle GDE after the 2005 cessation of supplementary pumping. Multivariate analysis reveals a shift from anthropogenic to climate-driven control of the wetland dynamics after 2015. What are the implications of the main findings? Climate-driven salinization progressively overrides spontaneous vegetation recovery in Mediterranean coastal GDEs subject to reduced freshwater inputs. Long-term satellite monitoring provides a quantitative baseline to guide the design of targeted management interventions aimed at sustaining ecosystem functioning under ongoing Mediterranean warming. Mediterranean coastal groundwater-dependent ecosystems are among the most vulnerable environments to the combined effects of climate change and local anthropogenic pressures, yet long-term quantitative assessments disentangling these drivers remain limited. The 41-year hydro-ecological dynamics (1984–2025) of "Le Soglitelle", a transitional man-made coastal GDE located in the Campania Plain (southern Italy), were reconstructed across three management regimes: illegal hunting via electric pumps augmentation of flooded areas (1984–2004), post-seizure transition (2005–2015), and fenced natural reserve sustained by artesian wells flow (2016–2025). A monthly multi-sensor time series of seven spectral indices was derived from cross-calibrated Landsat program Surface Reflectance products via Google Earth Engine. Spectral indices were then combined with climatic variables (precipitation, reference evapotranspiration, air temperature) and then integrated in a statistical framework including Mann–Kendall test, Pettitt test, and Principal Component Analysis. Significant breakpoints were identified for the water fraction (2007; mean decrease from 0.18 to 0.09) and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (2009; mean increase from 0.30 to 0.42), consistent with a hydrological regime shift following the interruption of anthropogenic pressures. The relationship between the water fraction and the Vegetation Soil Salinity Index was 2.7 times steeper in the last period than the first one, indicating that, for an equivalent flooded extent, osmotic stress on vegetation is substantially higher under the artesian flow alone, likely due to reduced dilution of saline inputs combined with the effect of ongoing climate change. PCA showed that PC1 reflected the transition from anthropogenic to more natural system conditions, whereas PC2 was associated with increasing ET0, became more prominent during the last period of management, suggesting a shift toward stronger climate-driven control. Long-term satellite monitoring provides a quantitative baseline for designing targeted management interventions aimed at sustaining ecosystem functioning under ongoing Mediterranean warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Remote Sensing is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Label: Title
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  Data: Disentangling Management and Climate Drivers in an Anthropogenic Transitional Mediterranean Coastal Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystem.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Alessandrino%2C+Luigi%22">Alessandrino, Luigi</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> luigi.alessandrino@unicampania.it</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Colombani%2C+Nicolò%22">Colombani, Nicolò</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Usai%2C+Alessio%22">Usai, Alessio</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mastrocicco%2C+Micòl%22">Mastrocicco, Micòl</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Remote+Sensing%22">Remote Sensing</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 18 Issue 11, p1738. 21p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Salinization%22">Salinization</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Anthropogenic+effects+on+nature%22">Anthropogenic effects on nature</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ecosystem+management%22">Ecosystem management</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Effect+of+salt+on+plants%22">Effect of salt on plants</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Remote+sensing%22">Remote sensing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Aquatic+ecology%22">Aquatic ecology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Climate+change%22">Climate change</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Southern+Europe%22">Southern Europe</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Italy%22">Italy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Campania+%28Italy%29%22">Campania (Italy)</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Highlights: What are the main findings? Vegetation salinity stress per unit flooded area tripled at Le Soglitelle GDE after the 2005 cessation of supplementary pumping. Multivariate analysis reveals a shift from anthropogenic to climate-driven control of the wetland dynamics after 2015. What are the implications of the main findings? Climate-driven salinization progressively overrides spontaneous vegetation recovery in Mediterranean coastal GDEs subject to reduced freshwater inputs. Long-term satellite monitoring provides a quantitative baseline to guide the design of targeted management interventions aimed at sustaining ecosystem functioning under ongoing Mediterranean warming. Mediterranean coastal groundwater-dependent ecosystems are among the most vulnerable environments to the combined effects of climate change and local anthropogenic pressures, yet long-term quantitative assessments disentangling these drivers remain limited. The 41-year hydro-ecological dynamics (1984–2025) of "Le Soglitelle", a transitional man-made coastal GDE located in the Campania Plain (southern Italy), were reconstructed across three management regimes: illegal hunting via electric pumps augmentation of flooded areas (1984–2004), post-seizure transition (2005–2015), and fenced natural reserve sustained by artesian wells flow (2016–2025). A monthly multi-sensor time series of seven spectral indices was derived from cross-calibrated Landsat program Surface Reflectance products via Google Earth Engine. Spectral indices were then combined with climatic variables (precipitation, reference evapotranspiration, air temperature) and then integrated in a statistical framework including Mann–Kendall test, Pettitt test, and Principal Component Analysis. Significant breakpoints were identified for the water fraction (2007; mean decrease from 0.18 to 0.09) and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (2009; mean increase from 0.30 to 0.42), consistent with a hydrological regime shift following the interruption of anthropogenic pressures. The relationship between the water fraction and the Vegetation Soil Salinity Index was 2.7 times steeper in the last period than the first one, indicating that, for an equivalent flooded extent, osmotic stress on vegetation is substantially higher under the artesian flow alone, likely due to reduced dilution of saline inputs combined with the effect of ongoing climate change. PCA showed that PC1 reflected the transition from anthropogenic to more natural system conditions, whereas PC2 was associated with increasing ET0, became more prominent during the last period of management, suggesting a shift toward stronger climate-driven control. Long-term satellite monitoring provides a quantitative baseline for designing targeted management interventions aimed at sustaining ecosystem functioning under ongoing Mediterranean warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Remote Sensing is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.3390/rs18111738
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 21
        StartPage: 1738
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Salinization
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Anthropogenic effects on nature
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ecosystem management
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Effect of salt on plants
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Remote sensing
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      – SubjectFull: Aquatic ecology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Climate change
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      – SubjectFull: Southern Europe
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Italy
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      – SubjectFull: Campania (Italy)
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    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Disentangling Management and Climate Drivers in an Anthropogenic Transitional Mediterranean Coastal Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystem.
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            NameFull: Colombani, Nicolò
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              M: 06
              Text: Jun2026
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              Y: 2026
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