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History and Traditional Management of Italian Wood Pastures

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Biocultural Diversity in Europe

Part of the book series: Environmental History ((ENVHIS,volume 5))

Abstract

Wood pastures are semi-natural systems of elevated biological and cultural value that are by now recognised at international level. There are many reasons for the current interest in such woods: the diversification of the forest landscape, the rehabilitation of abandoned land through the rearing of indigenous breeds yielding quality products with an elevated level of food safety and the conservation of biodiversity. The historic origin of these forest formations is very ancient and is linked to the deforestation carried out by man to obtain land for cultivation. The traditional management of these woods over centuries has allowed them to survive up to the present. Unlike other countries such as Spain, for example, in Italy forestry science has not codified any form of silvicultural management for the wooded pastures. The purpose of this article is to offer a synthetic bibliographical overview of the historic origins of these forest systems in Italy and the management methods applied to them.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Through the insertion of the wood in the husbandry forage chain, the production costs can be cut by between 30 and 60 % compared with modern stable breeding.

  2. 2.

    The need for moist and porous soil with a thick layer of litter to reduce evaporation at ground level, climatic conditions without sudden changes in temperature, tolerance to shade at the seedling stage which, however, cannot compete with the tall nitrophilous grasses typical of the clearings and the large empty spaces.

  3. 3.

    The degree of crown density (θ) of a wood is defined as the ratio between the sum of the areas (∑s) of the crowns of the trees of a wood complex (∑s = π/4 × ∑D c²), for simplification of calculation treated as circumferences (D c crown diameter), and the surface area of the wood S. In symbols, θ = Σs/S.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CULTLAB—Laboratory for Landscape and Cultural Heritage, University of Florence, Via San Bonaventura 13, 50145, Florence, Italy

    Francesca Emanueli & Mauro Agnoletti

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  1. Francesca Emanueli
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  2. Mauro Agnoletti
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Correspondence to Francesca Emanueli .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. GESAAF, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Mauro Agnoletti

  2. GESAAF, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Francesca Emanueli

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Emanueli, F., Agnoletti, M. (2016). History and Traditional Management of Italian Wood Pastures. In: Agnoletti, M., Emanueli, F. (eds) Biocultural Diversity in Europe. Environmental History, vol 5. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26315-1_7

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