The disappearance of cultural landscapes: the case of wooded-meadows in the Ligurian Apennines (NW Italy)

,Chiara Molinari,Carlo Montanari

doi:10.24916/iansa.2018.2.3

Abstract

The “wooded-meadows system” is a multifunctional use of vegetation resources widespread in Europesince the Neolithic, and well documented in the Ligurian Apennines (NW Italy) between the MiddleAges and the first half of the 19th century. The management of wooded-meadows included: collectionof fallen and dead branches in spring, later used for fuel; mowing and grazing in summer; collection ofsecondary products; making sheaves from branches in autumn, later used as cattle and sheep fodder;coppicing, pollarding and cutting of trees in winter.Three sites located in eastern Ligurian Apennines were studied by means of an interdisciplinaryapproach in order to better understand the impact and the consequences of this historical landusepractice on vegetation structure and composition. In particular, based on specific features ofpalynological diagrams, it was possible to conclude that (compared to the post-cultural phase) when thewooded-meadows system was in use, all the sites were characterized by: (1) lower pollen percentagesof trees; (2) higher pollen percentages of shrubs and herbs; (3) higher percentages of anthropogenicpollen indicators; (4) higher values of palynological richness.This research also represents a contribution to issues of nature-conservation policy for the preservationof cultural landscapes. (Less)

Highlights

The management system commonly known as “woodedmeadows” consists of a multifunctional use of vegetation resources that has been widespread in Europe since the Neolithic (Sigaut, 1982; Rasmussen, 1990; Maggi, Nisbet, 2000)
Based on specific features of palynological diagrams, it was possible to conclude that – when the wooded-meadows system was in use all the sites were characterized by: (1) lower pollen percentages of trees; (2) higher pollen percentages of shrubs and herbs; (3) higher percentages of anthropogenic pollen indicators; (4) higher values of palynological richness
By means of an interdisciplinary approach, we studied three different sites located in eastern Ligurian Apennines (Figure 2), an area where the management of wooded-meadows was widespread between the Middle Ages and the first half of the 19th century, but which has since disappeared (Moreno, 1990; Lowe et al, 1994; Davite, Moreno, 1996; Moreno, Poggi, 1996; Cevasco, 2007)

Summary

Introduction

The management system commonly known as “woodedmeadows” consists of a multifunctional use of vegetation resources that has been widespread in Europe ( in the region around the Baltic Sea, and in the mountains of central and southern Europe) since the Neolithic (Sigaut, 1982; Rasmussen, 1990; Maggi, Nisbet, 2000). Wooded-meadows were originally managed with a series of cyclical tasks (Figure 1) including: (a) the collection of fallen and dead branches in spring, later used for fuel; (b) mowing and grazing during summer; (c) the collection of secondary products (e.g. berries, mushrooms, medicinal herbs, etc.). Within this context, our main aim was to better understand the main consequences of this land-use practice on vegetation structure and composition in the past.

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion