The Role of Mediterranean Fruit Tree Orchards and Vineyards in Maintaining the Traditional Agricultural Landscape

The Mediterranean area represents one of the most suitable and diversified environments for horticultural crops, being this propriety well expressed in the commonly accepted definition of “Mediterranean cultivated garden”. In Italy, fruit crops have been in the past introduced and expanded in different environments depending on the species and adaptability to the physiographic characteristics of the regions. The climate and the diversity of environmental contexts, the specificity of soils, the plasticity of the cultivated genotypes, have allowed a tight and typical relationship among land and farmers. Since the past centuries olive and fruit orchards, vineyards and Citrus plantations have represented the typicity of the Italian rural landscape. The physiognomy of tree cropping systems has been changed rapidly starting from half of the past century owing to the introduction of new genetic resources, the change in the concepts of quality, the modernization and intensification of the agronomical techniques, resulting in loss of environmental and biological diversity. Nonetheless, some historic fruit orchards and vineyards have survived. The research is focused: a) on the recognition and mapping of the traditional landscapes of fruit crops in two representative Mediterranean regions; b) on the identification of their typological traits; c) on the definition of their environmental and technical sustainability based on an interdisciplinary methodology. Through a multi-criterial analysis it was possible to recognize and measure the sustainability of these cropping models and their ecological function, turning into preservation of environmental resources, environmental quality and quality of life. The study also underlined the crucial role of the traditional agricultural landscapes in the maintenance of local identity, history and economy. By representing a cultural heritage, traditional agricultural landscapes and traditional farming might justify preservation and valorisation actions. INTRODUCTION Fruit cropping systems, in both monospecific and mixed stands, olive groves and vineyards represent in Italy some of the most important land-use types of the past as well as of the contemporary time and they are, therefore, connotative traits of the Italian rural landscape (Barbera et al., 2004; Bevilacqua, 1989; Biasi and Varoli Piazza, 2007; Gullino et al., 2010) that have also impressed travellers, painters, writers. The rural landscape, that is a space resulting from the interaction among factors such as land form, soil and climate on one hand, and regional culture, habits and history, on the other, is today a complex of land-use mosaics showing modern and traditional forms that have survived transformation or abandonment (Marececk, 2008; Vos and Meeks, 1999). The consideration of the landscape function exerted by the fruit cropping systems, (i.e., the maintenance of the rural space and of the environment’s integrity, characteristics and quality) has gained importance and is now commonly considered besides the main function to produce for the market (Antorp, 2005; Barbera and Cullotta, 2009). The landscape has been recently recognized being a common good as stated by international organisations like the UNESCO under the World Heritage Convention (Vienna and Ottawa Conferences on Proc. XXVIIIth IHC – IS on the Challenge for a Sustainable Production, Protection and Consumption of Mediterranean Fruits and Nuts Eds.: A.M. D’Onghia et al. Acta Hort. 940, ISHS 2012 80 Cultural Landscapes, 1996, 2001) (Zimmermann, 2006) and by the Council of Europe’s European Landscape Convention (ELC Florence, 2000; Priore, 2006). The Traditional Agricultural Landscapes (TALs) are recognized as precious habitats that need to be somehow preserved. Nonetheless, it is not clear how to proceed as demonstrated by the lack of concerted actions. Furthermore, TALs even lack a common definition, having been defined for instance as landscapes that change gradually, rather stable and that have unique character or identity (Antorp, 2005), as traditional agricultural uses with tight functional relationships between architecture and crops (Bevilacqua, 1989), as agroecosystems with high ecological sustainability (Abbona et al., 2007) or places that have a ‘total cultural content’ and an ‘associative value’ (Zimmermann, 2006). The high complexity of these agricultural landscapes does not fit with simple definitions, and the need for one systemic, interdisciplinary knowledge of these spaces is emerging. Italy, like many other European countries, is rich in traditional agriculture, although only little studied for its consistency of inventory, characters and function. Many studies on historic agricultural landscapes have been carried out through case studies and the information on their nature, constitutive characters and features are therefore still fragmented. Different approaches have been used from the evaluation of single functions (Farina, 2000; Stephenson, 2008), to the proposal of multiple-criteria inventories (Barbera et al., 2010a; Maniglio Calcagno, 2003; Zimmermann, 2006; Meeus, 1995; Vos and Meekes, 1999; www.pan.cultland.org), and more recently their inclusion in sustainable land planning actions (Marignani et al., 2008; Pena et al., 2010; Swensen and Jerpåsen, 2008). A protection policy is carried out by the UNESCO that has included in the list of Word Heritage Sites famous Italian rural landscapes like the Orcia Valley, the hills of Prosecco sparkling wine production and the Cinque Terre (www.unesco.org). Nonetheless, a commune integrated approach is still lacking. In the first instance there is urgent need for an accurate survey of the distribution of the TALs, some of which are in various states of decline and at risk of disappearance, and of the comprehension of their structure and function. This study represents the validation of an integrated multidisciplinary methodology (Barbera et al., 2010b) formulated for the recognition and mapping of the traditional landscapes of fruit trees and vine cropping systems and for the evaluation of their typological constitutive traits and function. In particular, the aim of the research was the survey and mapping of the traditional fruit tree and vine cropping systems in model Mediterranean areas, the measure of the tree cropping system’s role in constructing the network of TALs, and the definition of their constitutive traits and function (structure, management, complexity) and status (integrity or misuse). MATERIALS AND METHODS Study Areas and Scale of Investigation The study has been carried out in two Mediterranean administrative regions, i.e., Sicily and Latium (Fig. 1) chosen as areas representative of Italian environmental, physiographic and cultural variability. In particular two large territorial areas, i.e., the Tuscia region northern of Rome (in Latium) and the Mount Etna region (in Sicily), were chosen. The methodology used considered a hierarchal spatial delimitation of land areas for identifying and characterizing the localization of TALs (Barbera et al., 2010b). Thus, the following levels of analysis were considered: Landscape System (LS), Landscape Unit (LU) and Testing Area (TA). LSs were delimited by socio-economical criteria, i.e., the agrarian regions, a land classification adopted in Italy since the beginning of the last century (1929), aiming statistical and economic evaluations of the agricultural land, mainly based on contiguous territories with prevalent common land-use types. LUs were identified by a finer environmental analysis, mainly based on physiography, lithology, soil, climate, land use. TAs were chosen for their representation of the landscape system’s variability and as a representative localized area of the LU.