The Monumental Olive Trees as Biocultural Heritage of Mediterranean Landscapes: The Case Study of Sicily

Rosario Schicchi, Claudia Speciale, Filippo Amato, Giuseppe Bazan, Giuseppe Di Noto, Pasquale Marino, Pippo Ricciardo and Anna Geraci
Additional contact information
Rosario Schicchi: Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences (SAAF), University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Claudia Speciale: Departamento de Ciencias Históricas, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35004 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Filippo Amato: Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences (SAAF), University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Giuseppe Bazan: Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, 90123 Palermo, Italy
Giuseppe Di Noto: Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences (SAAF), University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Pasquale Marino: Bona Furtuna LLC, Los Gatos, CA 95030, USA
Pippo Ricciardo: Regional Department of Agriculture, Sicilian Region, 90145 Palermo, Italy
Anna Geraci: Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, 90123 Palermo, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-17

Abstract: Monumental olive trees, with their longevity and their remarkable size, represent an important information source for the comprehension of the territory where they grow and the human societies that have kept them through time. Across the centuries, olive trees are the only cultivated plants that tell the story of Mediterranean landscapes. The same as stone monuments, these green monuments represent a real Mediterranean natural and cultural heritage. The aim of this paper is to discuss the value of monumental trees as “biocultural heritage” elements and the role they play in the interpretation of the historical stratification of the landscape. We present the results of a survey of the most significant olive trees growing in Sicily. The selection was based on the “monumentality” aspects of trees, taking into account dendrometric parameters and environmental contexts. The collected dataset constitutes a heterogeneous sample of 367 specimens of considerable size that, in some cases, reach a circumference of about 19 m. Starting from the data presented here, the whole Sicilian territory shows a historical relationship between human and olive. The presence of these plant monuments is, therefore, evidence of long-term, often centennial, landscapes as a result of sustainable use of the territory.

Keywords: agrobiodiversity; ancient trees; biocultural diversity; biodiversity; heritage trees; historical ecology; long-lived trees; Olea europaea; veteran trees (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/12/6767/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/12/6767/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:12:p:6767-:d:575362

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().