Chestnut groves represent a particular kind of agricultural landscape. In Italy, thousands of hectares of chestnut forest represent a dominant and irreplaceable part of the landscape and environment of the Alps and Apennines mountains. The spread of the species Castanea sativa contributed to unequivocally characterize the Italian mountainous landscape. The current traits of chestnut groves and their location are the result of the process of regression of chestnut cultivation on a regional scale. Despite this, a modest area of traditional chestnut groves is still preserved in some Piemonte valleys and, in particular, some specific elements of the traditional landscape are well-preserved in the Pesio Valley (CN). In the frame of the present study, this area was therefore chosen as representative of the Italian traditional Alpine chestnut culture and landscape. The study tried to answer to two main questions: 1. which are the main driving forces, related to chestnut landscape transformation? 2. which are the future chestnut landscape scenarios? A focus group was organized whit local stakeholders in order to answer to these two questions. The results showed that regarding the valorization and maintenance of traditional landscape features, the most important driving forces are: 1. local forestry policies directed towards supporting chestnut growers’ income, 2. the need for new and specifically trained chestnut growers and 3. socio-economical needs. On the other side, fragmentation of mountainous land property and the intensive fruit growing (flat areas) might cause the loss of local knowledge and traditional productions.
A MULTIDISCIPLINARY AND MULTISCALE INTERPRETATIVE MODEL TO PLAN AND MANAGE TRADITIONAL CHESTNUT LANDSCAPE IN ITALY
Mellano Maria Gabriella;Gullino Paola;Larcher F.;Beccaro Gabriele
2017-01-01
Abstract
Chestnut groves represent a particular kind of agricultural landscape. In Italy, thousands of hectares of chestnut forest represent a dominant and irreplaceable part of the landscape and environment of the Alps and Apennines mountains. The spread of the species Castanea sativa contributed to unequivocally characterize the Italian mountainous landscape. The current traits of chestnut groves and their location are the result of the process of regression of chestnut cultivation on a regional scale. Despite this, a modest area of traditional chestnut groves is still preserved in some Piemonte valleys and, in particular, some specific elements of the traditional landscape are well-preserved in the Pesio Valley (CN). In the frame of the present study, this area was therefore chosen as representative of the Italian traditional Alpine chestnut culture and landscape. The study tried to answer to two main questions: 1. which are the main driving forces, related to chestnut landscape transformation? 2. which are the future chestnut landscape scenarios? A focus group was organized whit local stakeholders in order to answer to these two questions. The results showed that regarding the valorization and maintenance of traditional landscape features, the most important driving forces are: 1. local forestry policies directed towards supporting chestnut growers’ income, 2. the need for new and specifically trained chestnut growers and 3. socio-economical needs. On the other side, fragmentation of mountainous land property and the intensive fruit growing (flat areas) might cause the loss of local knowledge and traditional productions.
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
