Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on the Landscape Stability in the Mediterranean World Heritage Site Based on Multi-Sourced Remote Sensing Data: A Case Study of the Causses and Cévennes, France

Climate change is significantly destabilizing the Causses and Cévennes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in France. A study using multi-sourced remote sensing data from 1985 to 2020 revealed that this Mediterranean agro-pastoral landscape experienced warming and drying trends, leading to a decline in woodland coverage (from 76% to 66.5%), increased fragmentation, and shifts among land cover types like cropland, shrubland, and grasslands. Landscape stability showed marked spatiotemporal variations with an overall downward trend. Precipitation emerged as the dominant climatic factor influencing landscape stability, particularly through its interaction with temperature. These findings highlight vulnerabilities in Mediterranean heritage sites, offering critical insights for sustainable conservation strategies.

Zhu, M., Zhu, D., Huang, M., Gong, D., Li, S., Xia, Y., Lin, H., & Altan, O. (2025). Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on the Landscape Stability in the Mediterranean World Heritage Site Based on Multi-Sourced Remote Sensing Data: A Case Study of the Causses and Cévennes, France. Remote Sensing, 17(2), 203. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17020203