Scarce consideration of climate and land use changes impacts on ecosystem services and biodiversity in the Apennines Mountain system, Italy

Climate change strongly impacts ecosystems and human activities. Its effects are particularly severe in mountain areas and within the Mediterranean-Climate Region (MCR), where they cause socio-economic and territorial dynamics with serious consequences on Ecosystem Services (ES) supply, biodiversity, and landscape quality. The majority of impacts of climate change often occur in combination with that of human activities, resulting in ecosystem alteration, soil degradation, landscape fragmentation, disruption of interspecific dynamics, and establishment of invasive species. Nevertheless, virtually no study performed a comprehensive assessment of current knowledge on impacts due to climate and land use changes on Mediterranean mountains, complicating the development and implementation of adaptation strategies. This paper investigates the effects of climate and land use changes on biodiversity and ES in the vulnerable Mediterranean mountains, focusing on the Apennines (Italy). We performed a literature review to (i) evaluate the impacts of climate change on ES and biodiversity, taking into account the preeminent role of land use in this geographical context; (ii) understand how knowledge has been translated into best practices (such as strategies, actions, or solutions); and (iii) recognise the contribution of spatial planning instruments to enhance resilience and ES supply. Results show that less than 50 papers addressed these issues, highlighting a knowledge gap, with limited translation into operative planning concepts. Although the connections between socio-economic and ecological systems are widely acknowledged, and the severe impacts of climate change across multiple sectors are well understood, research addressing these challenges often remains compartmentalised. Available studies in fact often focus on a limited number of specific factors, without embracing a more comprehensive and holistic approach. Broad-scoped and multi-scale studies are needed to adequately cope with the deep consequences of climate and land use changes on ES and biodiversity in the Mediterranean mountains.