## 2 Materials and Methods  
### Object-Based Method  
This paper approaches territory knowledge using a new method, described as OBM. This method is based on the principle that the entire topographic surface is mapped in terms of associated areal landforms and deposits (full coverage through polygons) defined in a hierarchical order (multiscale) and suitable to be structured in a GIS environment. It is derived directly from classic geomorphological mapping using \"traditional\" symbols (applied in a CARG project), of which it is an evolutionary step. A TGM reports landforms as punctual, linear and areal symbols. The mapping of some areal landforms is through areal symbols (i.e., alluvial fan, debris fan), while other areal landforms are traditionally represented as linear symbols which refer to their edge (i.e., fluvial scarp, detachment niche). These last cases have the disadvantage that the linear symbols (i.e., the upper edge of a detachment niche) don't represent the entire areas affected by the landforms (i.e., a wide sector of the slope) and don't allow for specifying their whole spatial properties [12]. Landforms, represented in a TGM in a precise and repeatable way by the use of non-dimensional cartographic symbols, are in OBM replaced by properly demarcated surficial geometric entities represented by polygons [5; 6; 13; 14; 15; 16]. This methodology, starting from a traditional geomorphological \"detection\", progressively refines the results of the recognition and delineation of landforms. The various steps of the method, each controlled by the expert judgment of geomorphologist, are performed by a georeferenced data analysis of a DTM in proper spacing. The collected field data can be digitalized in a GIS environment. All the geologic and geomorphologic features can be drawn as polygon type, in order to  
Figure 1: Geomorphological and geological sketch of the Rodoretto Valley involved by gravitational phenomena and glacial shaping (modified from [7]). obtain a full-coverage map [5; 6] following the object-based map criteria. The table of attributes has been generated following the hierarchic order proposed by [4]. The framework of this methodology comprises:  
* Opportunity to integrate the geomorphological map with a specially dedicated database containing some landform details, not represented by \"traditional\" symbols (dimensions, processes, age);
* Hierarchical taxonomy whose levels are organized in terms of \"topological nested entities\", represented by polygons. Decreasing the scale of representation, a polygon can be mapped as lines, point symbols, backgrounds and annotations;
* Use of GIS technology that allows the production of cartographic representations that are continuously updatable, to obtain subdivisions and morphometric parameters, carry out numerical analysis and extract several thematic maps to be used, from time to time, in specific fields of application. OBM is a methodology that can only be computerized and is not reproducible, in its entirety, in a paper version. This impossibility is connected to the multiscalarity approach, the opportunities of upgrading the data and the spatial simultaneous overlap of morphological and geological elements, not available through traditional mapping. The application of this method in the Rodoretto Valley was carried out because a large amount of geological and geomorphological data were collected by the authors, based on which a detailed geomorphological map has recently been published [17]. In detail, the methodology used for the construction of a new object-based geomorphological map is articulated in the following steps:  
* Construction of a geomorphological \"traditional\" map and a geological map to the same scale;
* Construction of a hierarchic table of attributes in a GIS environment;
* Drawing of landforms that, on the base of the representation scale, correspond to point, polyline or polygon.