The Role of Trees Outside Forests in the Cultural Landscape of the Colline del Prosecco UNESCO Site

Abstract

The multifunctional role of Trees Outside Forests (TOF) is largely recognized in scientific literature, but they are still rarely considered in forest inventories and planning, with consequent underestimation of their role and amount. In addition, their cultural role has rarely been considered both at scientific and management level as well as in UNESCO sites. TOF characterize many European cultural landscapes, including the one of the Colline del Prosecco, inscribed in 2019 in the UNESCO World Heritage List. One of the reasons of the inclusion, in fact, is the landscape mosaic made of vineyards interspersed with small woodlands and tree rows. This paper focuses on two types of TOF, Small Woods and Linear Tree Formations (TOF NON A/U). Their detailed mapping and the performing of different spatial analysis allowed us to assess their role and to provide data for future monitoring and for local forest planning. Results confirmed that TOF NON A/U are one of the main features of the UNESCO site landscape: despite the limited overall surface (1.95% of the area), 931 different patches have been identified. Spatial analysis highlighted the key landscape and ecological roles, acting as intermediate features between large forest patches, and also an important role for hydrological protection (they can be found also in slopes above 80% of inclination). The study provided a detailed mapping and database of one of the main features of the Colline del Prosecco UNESCO site cultural landscape, verifying the multifunctional role of TOF NON A/U and the necessity to include them into local forest planning, but also suggesting their inclusion in national forest inventories.