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Terraced landscapes are characterized by many features but are also threatened by abandonment, with the loss of the historical landscape and increased hydrogeological risk. In this research, we developed an innovative integrated approach using expert-based assessment and evaluation of winegrowers' perceptions to investigate the coevolution between terraced landscapes and rural communities. The aims were as follows: (i) to identify the historical landscape elements, (ii) to identify the landscape dynamics, and (iii) to analyze winegrowers' perceptions about the historical landscape elements and future development prospects. The methodology was applied to a terraced vineyard landscape (545 ha) located in Piedmont (Italy). The expert-based assessment included historical analyses and field surveys. To evaluate winegrowers' perceptions, an online questionnaire was used to understand their perceptions about the landscape's historical elements and dynamics. The results suggest that unique historical landscape elements and traditional practices (vine pergolas supported by stone columns) are conserved in the area, but also highlight some dynamics, including new vine-breeding techniques (espaliers) and new land uses (olive groves, meadows, and woodland). Winegrowers (n = 49) recognized as identity elements the same identified as historical by experts. Regarding future prospects, almost all winegrowers preferred the conservation of vineyards and pergolas. The research methodology was able to show the mutual link between terraced landscapes and rural communities in coevolutionary terms and could be replicated in similar contexts. According to the winegrowers' awareness, future planning strategies will have to support dynamic conservation of the landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Understanding the latent relationship between rural landscape and biodiversity conservation is of key importance when aiming to preserve food security, ecosystem services and the quality of the environment. Crop intensification negatively impacted the biodiversity of rural areas and was followed by the adoption of mono-cultural production models. The conservation of traditional agricultural landscapes (TALs) based on traditional land management approaches, ensures the conservation of the ecosystem's complexity and high levels of biodiversity. In Europe, Mediterranean TALs are threatened by a combination of anthropogenic and natural factors. The need to preserve TALs is widely recognized despite the lack of comprehensive information and collective policy strategies. On the other hand, inventories are available for endangered cultivars, typical products and traditional agricultural practices. This study focuses on the relationship between TALs and the use of local varieties/typical products. The analysis will: (i) define, map and characterize the tree-crop based traditional landscapes in one of the Mediterranean regions (Latium, central Italy) through a land-use change detection analysis (1960-2000) and (ii) identify the most endangered TALs based on environmental risk factors, on autochthonous agro-biodiversity at risk of varietal erosion and on traditional products that risk to disappear. Results prove that the most endangered rural landscapes are the ones located on fringe and marginal lands due to climate aridity and soil erosion. The identification of the endangered TALs contributes to constructing more effective strategies for the preservation of agro-biodiversity and natural ecosystem functionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental, biological, socio-cultural and economic status variation existing in the Central Himalaya have led to the evolution of diverse and unique traditional agroecosystems, crop species and livestock, which facilitate the traditional mountain farming societies to sustain themselves. Indigenous agroecosystems are highly site specific and differ from place to place, as they have evolved along divergent lines. For maintenance of traditional agrodiversity management the farmers of the Central Himalaya have evolved various types of crop rotations in consonance with the varied environmental conditions and agronomic requirements. In irrigated flat lands two crops are harvested in a year with negligible fallow period but in rainfed conditions if a cropping sequence is presumed to be starting after winter fallow phase then four major cropping seasons can be identified namely first kharif season (first crop season), first rabi season (second crop season), second kharif season (third crop season) and second rabi season (fourth crop season). Highest crop diversity is present in kharif season in comparison to rabi season. Traditionally the fields are left fallow after harvest of the second kharif season crop. Important characteristics of agrodiversity management are the use of bullocks for draught power, human energy as labour, crop residues as animal feed and animal waste mixed with forest litter as organic input to restore soil fertility levels. Women provide most of the human labour except for ploughing and threshing grain. The present study deals with assessment of traditional agrodiversity management such as (i) crop diversity, (ii) realized yield under the traditional practices and (iii) assess the differences of realized yields under sole and mixed cropping systems. It indicated that crop rotation is an important feature of the Central Himalayan village ecosystem which helps to continue the diversity of species grown, as are the distribution of crops in the growing period and the management of soil fertility. The cropping diversity existing and the sequences practiced by the traditional farmers seems to have achieved high degree of specialization and thus even when the yield/biomass variations are about 60%, the farmers continue to practice these sequences as they need to maintain diversity and synergistic relationships of crops in addition to manage the food and labour requirements for crop husbandry. Crop yields are generally higher in irrigated systems than rainfed systems and in sole cropping as compared with mixed cropping. However, gross biological and economic yields are higher in mixed cropping than sole cropping systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Himalayan mountain system is distinguished globally for a rich biodiversity and for its role in regulating the climate of the South Asia. Traditional crop-livestock mixed farming in the Himalaya is highly dependent on forests for fodder and manure prepared from forest leaf litter and livestock excreta. Apart from sustaining farm production, forests provide a variety of other tangible and intangible benefits, which are critical for sustainable livelihood of not only 115 million mountain people, but also many more people living in the adjoining plains. Extension of agricultural landuse coupled with replacement of traditional staple food crops by cash crops and of multipurpose agroforestry trees by fruit trees are widespread changes. Cultivation of Fagopyrum esculentum, Fagopyrum tataricum, Panicum miliaceum, Setaria italica and Pisum arvense has been almost abandoned. Increasing stress on cash crops is driven by a socio-cultural change from subsistence to market economy facilitated by improvement in accessibility and supply of staple food grains at subsidized price by the government. Farmers have gained substantial economic benefits from cash crops. However, loss of agrobiodiversity implies more risks to local livelihood in the events of downfall in market price/demand of cash crops, termination of supply of staple food grains at subsidized price, pest outbreaks in a cash crop dominated homogeneous landscape and abnormal climate years. Indigenous innovations enabling improvement in farm economy by conserving and/enhancing agrobiodiversity do exist, but are highly localized. The changes in agrobiodiversity are such that soil loss and run-off from the croplands have dramatically increased together with increase in local pressure on forests. As farm productivity is maintained with forest-based inputs, continued depletion of forest resources will result in poor economic returns from agriculture to local people, apart from loss of global benefits from Himalayan forests. Interventions including improvement in traditional manure and management of on-farm trees, participatory development of agroforestry in degraded forest lands and policies favoring economic benefits to local people from non-timber forest products could reduce the risks of decline in agricultural biodiversity and associated threats to livelihoods and Himalayan ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Thar Desert of western India is known for its rich and ancient culture system and traditions. The communities have long been part of the Thar Desert ecosystem and have evolved specific strategies to live in harmony with its hostile environment. This culture has provided several miracle plants of immense food and medicinal value to modern civilisation. The ancient rural livelihood knowledge system reflects time-tested techno-scientific knowledge with a proven track record of sustainability, especially during natural hazards like drought and famines. In addition, several of the traditional skills of local communities in arts and crafts, music and instruments have made modern man aware of the art and techniques of sustainably utilising local biological resources and preserving their biodiversity along with using waste products of the forests, without harming the desert ecosystem. Traditional cultural and socio-religious values are fast dwindling under the impact of materialistic approach, industrialisation and development. This paper endeavours to illustrate the need to assist and propagate indigenous rural livelihood systems rather than mindlessly replace or abandon them as a result of state bureaucracies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

About two billion rural individuals depend on agricultural systems associated with a high amount of risk and low levels of yield in the drylands of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Human activities, climate change and natural extreme events are the most important drivers of desertification. This phenomenon has occurred in many regions of Iran, particularly in the villages in the periphery of the central desert of Iran, and has made living in the oases so difficult that the number of abandoned villages is increasing every year. Land abandonment and land-use change increase the risk of desertification. This study aims to respond to the research questions: (i) does the planning of green infrastructures on the desert margin affect the distribution and balance of the population? (ii) how should the green belt be designed to have the greatest impact on counteracting desertification?, and (iii) does the design of productive landscape provide the solution? Through a wide-ranging and comprehensive approach, this study develops different scenarios for designing a new form of green belt in order to sustainably manage the issues of environmental protection, agricultural tradition preservation and desertification counteraction. This study proposes a new-traditional greenbelt including small low-cost and low-tech projects adapted to rural scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terraced Mediterranean areas are distinctive man-made landscapes with historical and cultural relevance. Terraced land abandonment driven by physical and economic constraints had important ecological consequences. This study focuses on a marginal agricultural district in southern Latium, central Italy, where terracing dated back to the Roman period and olive groves are the main agricultural use. A diachronic assessment of land-use transformations was carried out to identify landscape dynamics and drivers of change around terraced land. Terraced landscape systems (TLS), derived from spatial aggregation of neighboring terraced patches, have been analyzed for landscape transformations considering slope as the main stratification variable. Structural and functional characteristics of TLS were analyzed using a landscape ecology approach. Soil bio-chemical indicators were finally assessed to study the impact of terraced olive agro-ecosystems on soil-related ecosystems services. The empirical findings outlined that TLS in central Italy are sensitive to urbanization and land abandonment. Cultivated terraces prevailed up to gentle-medium slope land, uncultivated and wooded areas dominated terraces on steep slopes. In this context, poly-cultural olive groves proved to be a cropping system particularly resilient to global change, irrespective of land slope. Terraced systems and extensive poly-cultural olive groves play a role in preserving ecosystem integrity, landscape quality, soil functionality and, therefore, environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]