The 1936 Italian Kingdom Forest Map reviewed: a dataset for landscape and ecological research

The recovery of the 1936 Italian Kingdom Forest Map (IKFM) (276 sheets 1:100,000) is described. It is a unique document that describes the forest extent and species composition for the whole of Italy. The original document is available in paper format using a datum and a map projection no longer in use, therefore it is not suitable for analysis using current digital tools. Therefore, this map has been firstly converted to a digital image, georeferenced and reprojected as a raster map in the official Italian datum; secondly, has been digitalized in vector format. This map provides historical, ecological and landscape information and fills a great temporal gap in those portions of Italy where landscape maps are available for some earlier periods. Its importance is extended to parts of Croatia, Slovenia and France. The technical problems faced in the recovery and transformation of the cartography into a usable format are described and discussed. A first data overview and analysis based on a test study, and comparisons with current national forest inventory data aimed to highlight potential and limits of IKFM are presented. The map is available on-line through a WebGIS at the address carta1936.dicam.unitn.it