European Landscape Convention (2000) recognizes landscape as an important element of cultural, ecological, environmental and social processes, and, no less important a relevant economical resource. On this basic statement, landscape may ensure life quality and human well-being. Nevertheless, landscapes are in continuous transformation as a result of both natural processes and anthropogenic disturbance.The need to manage and plan these transformation processes and to protect landscape values has therefore become a priority. The aim of EU measures is the maintenance of the traditional agricultural cultivation, preservation of environment, development of countryside tourism and conservation of biodiversity and habitats. This study is addressed to determine temporal and spatial variations in distribution of the almond orchards in the Velino south slope, in order to evaluate the degree of homogenization and the contraction of almond landscape, a typical cultural landscape that is decreasing all along the inner valleys of the Abruzzi region. This research is part of the SAFENUT European project. Within the Council Regulation (EC) N. 870/2004 AGRI GEN RES, that established a community program on the conservation, characterization and utilization of genetic resources in agriculture, the project represents an effort to coordinate the almond genetic resources to share them in a more efficient manner, focusing on the recovery of old traditional endangered almond genotypes. One of the main objectives of the project is the survey of traditional agricultural practices, land use, orchards structure and organization in the Mediterranean basin. The study area covers approximately 80 km2; and extends from the town of Massa d’Albe on the west to the municipal district of Celano on the east, and it is located approximately 20 km south of Mt Velino. The area has been selected as it represents the typical rural landscape in mountainous environment, where about 500 ha of almond orchards are still preserved. In order to evaluate landscape changes in this area over the last 50 years, the aerial photo set available for the years 1954 and 2006 respectively, were analyzed and location given by means of the GIS in order to create and analyze the spatial database and produce landscape maps for subsequent statistical analyses. Environmental data, such as elevation, slope and morphological features of the area were also included in the data base. Land use/cover information was extracted from the Region Abruzzo Land Use and the Corine Land Cover (Level 4) classification system. A specific spatial index (shape, density and abundance) was used to evaluate landscape heterogeneity. The evaluation of changes in land use are of high relevance for the identification of measures of protection of almond orchards, for a better understanding of the historical evolution of traditional agricultural practices, and, finally, for recovering local-historical memory on landscape uses and practices.

Historical evolution of “almond landscape“ in the Velino south slope (Abruzzo- Italy).

FRATTAROLI, Anna Rita;ROMANO, BERNARDINO;
2010-01-01

Abstract

European Landscape Convention (2000) recognizes landscape as an important element of cultural, ecological, environmental and social processes, and, no less important a relevant economical resource. On this basic statement, landscape may ensure life quality and human well-being. Nevertheless, landscapes are in continuous transformation as a result of both natural processes and anthropogenic disturbance.The need to manage and plan these transformation processes and to protect landscape values has therefore become a priority. The aim of EU measures is the maintenance of the traditional agricultural cultivation, preservation of environment, development of countryside tourism and conservation of biodiversity and habitats. This study is addressed to determine temporal and spatial variations in distribution of the almond orchards in the Velino south slope, in order to evaluate the degree of homogenization and the contraction of almond landscape, a typical cultural landscape that is decreasing all along the inner valleys of the Abruzzi region. This research is part of the SAFENUT European project. Within the Council Regulation (EC) N. 870/2004 AGRI GEN RES, that established a community program on the conservation, characterization and utilization of genetic resources in agriculture, the project represents an effort to coordinate the almond genetic resources to share them in a more efficient manner, focusing on the recovery of old traditional endangered almond genotypes. One of the main objectives of the project is the survey of traditional agricultural practices, land use, orchards structure and organization in the Mediterranean basin. The study area covers approximately 80 km2; and extends from the town of Massa d’Albe on the west to the municipal district of Celano on the east, and it is located approximately 20 km south of Mt Velino. The area has been selected as it represents the typical rural landscape in mountainous environment, where about 500 ha of almond orchards are still preserved. In order to evaluate landscape changes in this area over the last 50 years, the aerial photo set available for the years 1954 and 2006 respectively, were analyzed and location given by means of the GIS in order to create and analyze the spatial database and produce landscape maps for subsequent statistical analyses. Environmental data, such as elevation, slope and morphological features of the area were also included in the data base. Land use/cover information was extracted from the Region Abruzzo Land Use and the Corine Land Cover (Level 4) classification system. A specific spatial index (shape, density and abundance) was used to evaluate landscape heterogeneity. The evaluation of changes in land use are of high relevance for the identification of measures of protection of almond orchards, for a better understanding of the historical evolution of traditional agricultural practices, and, finally, for recovering local-historical memory on landscape uses and practices.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11697/37557
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