Soft Computing: a new approach to managing environmental problems

The role of uncertainty is crucial for an efficient and coherent resolution of complex environmental problems. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are deeply present in many sectors of research, applications, management: the technological evolution ackowledged in GIS architectures makes this challenge an effordable activity. Soft Computing, as witnessed by this special issue, may play an important role, renforcing some concrete modelizations implementable in GIS-based software. The researcherers on GIS are very often faced with the typical problematics of geographic nature: imprecise information, dishomogeneous parameters, insufficient quality and quantity of the input data, different and scarse sources. The management of this complexity is hence hard, but possible if it is dealt ‘‘softly’’. On the other hand, fuzzy logic and, more generally Soft Computing, does not wish to be alternative to the consolidated GIS methodology but it wants to appear integrative with it as this issue shall be trying to show. Just the manipulation of geographic data by using linguistic variables and terms allow to modelthe abovecited complexity with respect to the rigidity of the numerical data, usually supplied from the experts or from the Local Administrations in incomplete or imprecise form. This special issue collectes the contributes of well known authors. This collection offers to the reader of the Journal the opportunity to better understand where soft computing technologies can be successfully applied, and, from a more formal standpoint, the theoretical aspects that must be faced in order to move on the applications. I sincerely thank each invited author and the Editors of Soft Computing journal for giving me the opportunity to organize this issue.