Abstract
Through an exploratory case study conducted in the Pesio Valley, northwest Italy, this paper proposes a framework for maintaining traditional chestnut production landscapes and addressing future development policies. The main goal was to understand how to promote a bottom-up planning approach, including stakeholder perceptions in traditional chestnut landscape management. To ensure the sustainability of the landscape, current driving forces and their landscape effects were identified by local stakeholders using a focus group technique. Population ageing, local forestry policies directed towards supporting chestnut growers’ income, social and economic needs, and land fragmentation are the main driving forces that will influence future chestnut landscapes. The focus group participants built two scenarios of possible future development of the chestnut landscape, one characterized by the disappearance and transformation of chestnut stands, the other by their permanence and maintenance. The most recommended strategies for maintaining traditional chestnut cultivation were chestnut processing, fruit designation of origin, and the cultivation of traditional varieties. This study shows that, to preserve the traditional chestnut landscape, the participation of multiple stakeholders is a useful approach in landscape planning. This methodology could guide decision-makers and planners who desire to implement a participatory approach to a sustainable development program for traditional chestnut landscapes.
Highlights
In Europe, all agroforestry systems are landscapes managed by traditional agricultural techniques or practices [1,2]
In Piedmont, a large area of traditional chestnut is still preserved in the valleys of Cuneo province, and some characteristic elements of this traditional still preserved in the valleys of Cuneo province, and some characteristic elements of this traditional landscape are well-preserved in the Pesio Valley [9]
We have reported in Figure the results acquired in the two possible landscape scenarios
Summary
In Europe, all agroforestry systems are landscapes managed by traditional agricultural techniques or practices [1,2]. As reported by Antrop [4], remnants of traditional landscapes still exist in Europe nowadays, but they have become isolated patches on a large scale and are more and more difficult to recognize. In this context, several authors have outlined that many traditional land use systems have been lost or diminished in the past decades [5,6]. Several authors have outlined that many traditional land use systems have been lost or diminished in the past decades [5,6] This process is mainly linked to the abandonment or degradation of traditional agricultural systems and forestry management.
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