1. IntroductionTop

Terraced landscapes are known as one of the most representative anthropic landscapes, the result of a long-lasting process of domesticating high-steep landscapes to support agriculture and they are nowadays often identified as agro-ecological and cultural heritage (Agnoletti et al., 2015; Tarolli et al., 2014; Zoumides et al., 2017). They safeguard the hydrological and geological integrity of the land (Alberti et al., 2018), reduce slope and soil erosion, increase infiltration water and enhance cultivable areas in difficult environmental conditions (Bonardi & Varotto, 2016; Tarolli, 2018). On the other hand, they are among the most endangered land use types. Both technical (unfavorable agricultural conditions, difficulties to access the fields, low possibilities for mechanization), and socio-economic (higher maintenance costs, lower production and competitiveness, scarce appeal for young generation) reasons, caused a diffused abandonment of terraced areas in Europe and around the world starting from the second half of the 20^th century (Arnáez et al., 2015; Barbera et al., 2015; García-Ruiz & Lana-Renault, 2011; Lasanta et al., 2017; Tarolli et al., 2014). The loss of a terraced landscape, meaning the interruption of the active cultivation of the benches, causes a series of detrimental effects that go well beyond the loss of a productive system. It is indeed extended to the hydrogeological stability and to their roles of keepers of traditional knowledge, biodiversity, local identity and distinctiveness (Brandolini et al., 2018; Di Fazio & Modica, 2018; Tarolli et al., 2015)

A landscape is both heritage and memory, recognized by the European Landscape Convention (Council of Europe, 2000) as a political and legal subject for the individual and for the community (Déjeant-Pons, 2006). As a result, landscape and community are linked in an indissoluble entity (Bonesio, 2014). This concept is reiterated by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention (WHC) that in the operational guidelines for its implementation, considers landscape as the “outcome of a combined action between nature and man, witness of the evolution of societies and human settlement under the influence of opportunities and limits posed by the natural environment as well as social, economic, and cultural forces” (UNESCO, 2008). According to this interpretation, as pointed out by Agnoletti et al. (2015), there is a need to overcome the narrow definition that identifies terraces only as the result of the practice of interrupting steep slopes of mountain sides by creating sub-flat plains for agricultural purposes. This definition should instead be extended to include different sustainability functions provided by a terraced landscape, such as the economic-productive, the environmental-ecological and the historical-cultural ones, coming together to determine the territorial quality (Gisotti, 2003). The correct functioning of this complex system requires the active presence of human beings that farm the terraces, maintain the walls to avoid landslides and land degradation, and keep memory of the traditional knowledge, thus perpetrating sustainable land management (SLM) that lasted for centuries (Tarolli et al., 2014; Zoumides et al., 2017). The aims of this paper are: (i) to analyze the main reasons behind the active maintenance of the terraced agricultural area of the Cembra Valley (situated in the province of Trento -Italy), (ii) to discuss the main risks associated with current dynamics in land management; and (iii) to evaluate possible strategies to meet the current demand of improving the sustainability of land management.

2. The terraced viticulture of the Cembra ValleyTop

Within the Italian side of the Alps, the Cembra Valley, is located in the Trentino-Alto Adige Region. It begins South of the Fiemme and Fassa Valleys, following the course of the river Avisio, which, over the centuries, has dug a steep canyon into the porphyry all the way up to the river Adige, the second largest river of Italy. The valley, that extends beyond a total surface of 135 km², is affected by agricultural activity mainly on the orographic right, while the opposite side is dominated by the presence of porphyry quarries, nicknamed Red Gold for the profitability deriving from its extraction and processing (Figure 1). This activity has had a pivotal role in promoting the economic development of the Valley and indirectly sustains the terraced vineyards on the other side of the valley. here, the combination of a favorable exposition (South-East) and a considerable slope has meant that the gradual transformation from woodland to arable land has gone through an enormous work of agricultural interventions, mainly for creating terraces supported by dry stone containment walls (Folgheraiter & Zotta, 2018). These land modeling operations defined a unique landscape, characterized by the perfect symbiosis between terraced structures necessary to sustain cultivation, and the sinuous and articulated natural course of the valley (Spaini, 2013).

Viticulture has been practiced in this area since immemorial times, as evidenced by the discovery of the Situla, a bronze container for wine dating back to the VI century BC, and other discoveries of minor importance found in the countryside of Cembra (Marzatico, 1994).

It has been estimated that over the years, along the 33 km of the valley, a linear extension of dry stone walls ranging between 500 and 700 km were built (Cosner et al., 2019; Nardin et al., 2002). Together with the numerous agricultural artifacts built with the same local stone, they give to this landscape an overall sensation of aesthetic harmony; a value witnessed even by the German painter Albrecht Dürer in his watercolor paintings (Ceolan, 2004; Piel, 1992).

Today’s landscape is strongly characterized by the winegrowing destination of the cultivated areas, which, with its 704 hectare (Table 1), has an impact on half of the Usable Agricultural Area of the entire valley (1415 hectares, approximately 10 % of the whole territory (PAT, 2010)). Starting from the second half of the 1970s, the valley developed a rather mono-cultural profile that is visible still today.

The agricultural economy of the valley was able to evolve from a subsistent character, supported by the synergy of crops such as chestnut, buckwheat, rye, and corn, to a real competitiveness on markets outside the confines of the valley. This process was supported by the contribution of several factors, including the advisory service of the local Agrarian Institute of San Michele all´Adige (now Edmund Mach Foundation), the outcome of a specific research project aimed at identifying the most suitable area for each vine cultivar (Falcetti, 2007), local conferences and exhibitions devoted to promoting an iconic product such as the Müller Thurgau wine grape and the introduction of new, high-valued, products such as the “Spumante Trento DOC metodo classico”. A quality-oriented process that improved the local viticulture was the key of this successes. A process that involved 805 out of the total 876 farms actively operating in the valley. They are mainly small companies, with an average surface of 1.2 ha (PAT, 2010) and the main varieties cultivated are listed in table 2.

3. Problems and opportunities of viticulture in the Cembra ValleyTop

The Cembra Valley suffers from the problems that affect most of the agricultural mountain areas: (i) high production costs, with an estimate of 800 hours/ha (200 more than in valley-floor); (ii) high maintenance costs for the traditional dry-stone terraces; (iii) high levels of property fragmentation and (iv) a general low size of the properties which decrease competitiveness; (v) ageing rural populations, with lower propensity to introduce innovation; (vi) lower possibilities for mechanization, although the presence on the market of small-sized machines that adapt to mountain viticulture improves the possibilities for their beneficial introduction in vineyard management. All these aspects represent historical structural issues that lower the overall profitability of local viticulture and pose serious questions about its sustainability in the future. Nevertheless, the degree of land abandonment in the Cembra Valley is very low compared with other terraced areas also in Trentino Region (Tecilla et al., 2017). Therefore, besides the weak points, there must be other strengths that has allowed the local viticulture to be actively maintained. These aspects were recently investigated by Vettori (2018) with a survey among local farmers and administrators. Among the elements influencing positively the local territory we can list the presence of a wine cooperative (Cantina Lavis-Valle di Cembra), that provides good incomes also for owners of small parcels of land that only allow for parttime jobs, and contributes to maintain a strong sense of belonging, still quite high also among the youngest generation (Vettori, 2018). There have been important changes from both the oenological and agronomical point of view. In the cellars, innovation in the methods and materials used, mainly promoted by the local enology school in the near “Istituto Agrario di S. Michele all´Adige”, allowed an increase of the wine quality, with peaks of performances that ensured international awards for several wineries. This process was extended in the field, with the adoption of new cultivars supported by important research works aimed to increase the knowledge in the local environment (Falcetti, 2007). Moreover, agronomical practices have been adopted, partly mechanized, that facilitated the hard work in the fields. The associations of wine producers and growers has contributed with traditional local exhibition and events, like the “International Exhibition of Müller Thurgau” and the festival “Festa dell´Uva” to increase the reputation of the Valley as an area of excellent wine production. Besides the innovation process toward high-quality viticulture, important infrastructures were built. Starting from the 1970^ies the traditional unpaved roads were adapted to allow larger tractors to reach the countryside with a good degree of capillarity, while, in the first years of the new millennia, an irrigation system able to serve the vineyards of the entire valley was build (Rosa et al., 2015), avoiding problems related to summer water stress which, especially in mountain contexts, may entirely threaten grape production (Wenter et al., 2018).

Being still an actively cultivated mountain area, the adaptation of the vineyards to the changes of the societal needs in the last decades, caused a number of dynamics that brought new threats for the overall beauty and harmony of the traditional terraced landscape. The planting of new varieties and the need to mechanize some agricultural practices led to the introduction of the espalier training system “Guyot”, which has a different impact on the landscape with respect to the traditional “Pergola trentina” (Figure 2). The arrival of new materials and construction methods has led to the appearance of a series of “personalized” solutions for the reconstruction and maintenance of the traditional dry stone walls (Paolazzi, 2018). In no cases do these solutions appear to improve the aesthetic and ecological profile of original dry-stone walls, but they are preferred by growers because of the low of the low construction costs and the believed higher resistance and capacity to support the weight of heavy machines. The ultimate risk is the adoption of both these practices aimed at maximizing only the productive function of the field by reducing the operational costs, with the vineyard trained as Guyot and planted along the lines of maximum slope after the removal of the traditional terraces. This landscape-indifferent management, has a severe impact on the overall architecture of the winegrowing area of the Valley (Zottele & Delay, 2014). On the other hand, the risk of obsolescence or land abandonment due to the low remuneration is still an issue, especially where the fields are not easily accessible or too small (Cosner et al., 2019), with a consequent loss also of the agriculture-correlated environmental and socio-cultural ecosystem services (Di Fazio & Modica, 2018). Climate change is also seen by many farmers as a potential threat to the terraced landscape. In particular, the major concerns are expressed regarding the tendency of meteoric phenomena to concentrate both in terms of frequency and intensity, with consequences on the cultivated slopes that can be observed in terms of increased rill erosion and landslides (Vettori, 2018).

A new opportunity for the local viticulture can be found in the new recognition of the “Valle di Cembra” as a specific sub-area within the regional DOC (Denomination of Controlled Origin) Trentino protocol, which can contribute to increasing the final price of the grapes (Assovini, 2016). The overall good quality of the environment, with riparian and other natural vegetation zones, well integrated with the most intensively cultivated area (Caldonazzi et al., 2014), has to be considered as an opportunity. This especially in the light of the growing importance in the public opinion of agro-environmental issues (Vallés-Planells et al., 2014), which are pushing the policymaker to subsidize the adoption of agro-ecological measures (Wezel et al., 2014). Similarly, it has been statistically demonstrated that consumers associate extraordinary landscapes with high wine quality. The value of the landscape, if properly communicated, may contribute thus to add value to the final product (Tempesta et al., 2010) and possibly create opportunities for income-generating activities related to rural tourism (Di Fazio & Modica, 2018; Vettori, 2018).

4. The impact of policyTop

Due to their location in remote areas, their complexity, and overall low productivity, terraced landscapes rarely benefit from ad hoc policy measures designed to preserve these territories and make use of the new opportunities they may offer. It emerges the need to promote community-based participatory processes for planning and delivering direct actions (Zoumides et al., 2017) and to reinforce Local Authorities, bringing decision-making and management centres closer to terraced territories and which possibly subsidies relevant activities (Fontanari et al., 2016; Nardin et al., 2002).

At the regional level, farmers in the Cembra Valley can benefit from agricultural measures foreseen in the PSR (Rural Development Program, within the framework of Pillar 2 – Rural Development Programme of the European CAP – Common Agricultural Policy). PSR is managed by the Autonomous Province of Trento to promote the implementation of the measures foreseen by the CAP for development of agriculture. Both private and public entities can obtain financial support in activities aimed to: promote knowledge transfer and innovation; enhance the profitability and competitiveness of all types of agriculture and promote innovative technologies for farms and sustainable forest management; promote the organization of the food supply chain, animal welfare, and risk management in the agricultural sector; preserve, restore and enhance ecosystems related to agriculture and forests; encourage the efficient use of resources and the transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy in the agrifood and forestry sectors; promote social integration, poverty reduction, and economic development in rural areas (http://www.psr.provincia.tn.it/). Although PSR is crucial for the survival of mountain agriculture, no specific measures are foreseen for terraced areas.

A way to get closer to the specific needs of a homogenous territory and encourage the development of participatory processes is foreseen by the CAP through the LEADER (Liaison Entre Action de Developpement de l´Economie Rurale) programme. The LEADER programme, managed under the umbrella of the PSR, is conceived to promote rural development actions elaborated and shared locally in order to revitalize the territory, creating employment, and improve the general living conditions in rural areas. A LEADER measure is currently open in the Cembra Valley together with other surrounding areas for the 7-years period of the active CAP (2014-2020).

The Autonomous Province of Trento, in the exercise of its special autonomy, has adopted a new regulatory framework with the institution of the “Comunità Di Valle” (CdVs). They are local public authorities provided by the Provincial Law of Institutional Reform (16 June 2006, No. 3), which has identified them as the appropriate institutional level for the exercise of important administrative functions, such as those related to social welfare activities, housing and the right to study, and urban planning. They include several municipalities of the valley in a sort of “umbrella government” bridging the gap between the usually small municipalities and the central Regional government (Guella, 2019). The new CdV of the Cembra Valley brings together 7 municipalities for a total of approximately 11.600 inhabitants (Folgheraiter & Zotta, 2018). It was an important step forward for the territory, allowing the adoption of policies that best meet the particular needs of this area included the peculiarity of the terraced landscape and the need to keep it alive. A successful example is represented by the specific measure adopted by the local CdV to ensure an economic support for repairing terraces failure, counteracting progressive obsolescence of the landscape. In 5 years, this political measure allowed to support more than 200 direct maintenance and reparation interventions on the terraces of the Cembra Valley (Table 3).

The presence of a recognized local authority may help to design proper policies adapted to the specific needs of the territory, working in closer contact with the economic activities to reach important goals in term of land promotion and certification or product development.

5. Future perspective for the local developmentTop

Given the complexity of a terraced territory, the solutions for its maintenance cannot be simple. One sure thing is that it is imperative to preserve the conditions for the continued presence of human activity. All the actors, public and private have thus to develop tools and strategies to guarantee a decent remuneration of the labor on the terraced fields.

The path undertaken by the local viticulture since the 1970s with the adoption of specific production protocols (DOC Trentino, recently evolved in the recognition of the sub-area Valle di Cembra, Assovini, 2016), the adoption of new varieties based on zoning (Falcetti, 2007), the innovation in the enological sector and grape processing, and the promotion of local high-quality wines undoubtedly contributed to increase successfully the intrinsic quality of wines and the derived income for the growers. Nevertheless, as reported by the farmers interviewed by Vettori, (2018), the higher production and maintenance costs in terraced areas are not yet matched by higher product prices, resulting in a lower competitiveness of the terraced viticulture. To reduce this imbalance, the sole solution cannot be an attempt to reduce production costs. Although some margin to decrease the number of work hours per hectare do exist by introducing a certain degree of mechanization, and the consequent adaptation of the land to improve its functionality to allow small-sized machines to enter the fields has to be accepted, there will be no chances to compete on this side with viticulture of the low-land districts. Forcing the new vineyards in this direction would cause a distortion of the territory, arising hydrogeological issues and compromising the other social and environmental values of the traditional terraced landscape.

A more promising solution, able to influence positively the wider community, is to start a new path which focuses on the landscape, extending the concept of quality from the wine to the whole territory. Taking advantage from the current institutional and socio-economic state-of-art of the valley and the increased attention of the consumers on ethical and environmental issues (Di Fazio & Modica, 2018), we encourage a sort of collaboration public-private for the adoption of landscape management practices able to improve the environmental and social ecosystem services of the terraced landscape, increases the long-term sustainability of viticulture, improves the social acceptance of agricultural practices, and enhance the ability of the territory in attracting people both as visitors and as inhabitants. This process should concentrate on keeping the aesthetic and cultural value provided by the traditional landscape, without impairing the productive nature of viticulture. Concrete steps in this direction were taken in the Cembra Valley though several initiatives: (i) the constitution of a committee made of local public authorities together with private companies aimed to certify the “heritage status” of the local rural landscape by applying to the initiative of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture “National Register of historic Rural Landscape” (Agnoletti, 2011) and possibly to the FAO initiative “Globally Important Agricultural heritage System” (http://www.fao.org/giahs/en/); (ii) the adoption of the tool “Rete di Riserve” over the wider area of the Valley, that will help to manage and preserve the natural areas within or close to the wine-growing area of the Valley (Figure 3) in accordance with the agricultural needs and with the active participation of farmer representatives (Caldonazzi et al., 2014); (iii) the constitution of a provincial school of dry stone building to preserve and promote the culture of this building art in the Province of Trento (Sarzo et al., 2017), well before it was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural heritage of humanity in 2018 (https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/art-of-dry-stone-walling-knowledge-and-techniques-01393).

All these participatory processes, which include farmers as pivotal stakeholders, may significantly increase the overall quality of the landscape, allowing the rural community to correctly interpret the new roles is charged to, in terms of keeper of traditions, biodiversity, local identity and distinctiveness. A proper management of rural landscape, which ensure a future to the past, may not only have a positive return of the primary wine production function, but also support new activities in the field of tourism, recreation, environmental education and so forth, ultimately improving the livability of the territory.

6. ConclusionsTop

Terraced landscapes are the result of the continuous interaction between human labor and nature, with the objective of making possible food production based on native resources despite unfavorable environmental conditions. The product of such a collective, long-lasting project is as complex and evocative landscape, intrinsically sustainable and capable to produce several positive ecosystem services (Di Fazio & Modica, 2018; Lasanta et al., 2017; Paolazzi, 2018; Tarolli, 2018; Zoumides et al., 2017).

Modern agriculture has imposed new challenges over the years. For its part mountain agriculture must, therefore, adapt to new requirements, taking care not to compromise the original heritage character of the landscape, including the positive environmental and socio-cultural ecosystem services it provides for the community. Subsidies may be a good option to overcome the higher costs when starting a new farm business as well as to sustain the building and maintenance of infrastructures (like dry stone walls, roads, irrigation system), but in general, the system must be able to maintain itself on the market. For this reason, innovation in the production system should follow the principle of “sustainable intensification” (Baulcombe et al., 2009; Rockström et al., 2017; Tagliavini et al., 2019), introducing more knowledge per hectare in order not to impair yield quantity and quality, and applying low labor-intensive agroecological practices to ensure the long-term sustainability of viticulture (Wezel et al., 2014). Innovation in the products is also welcome, especially if it allows to increase the added value of the products and the income for the farmer. Adopting the proper management practices to ensure a quality landscape is thought to represent a driving force for sustainable, long-term development, capable to improve the awareness of local identity and to foster the multifunctional nature of agriculture.

Political actions, especially from the closer local authorities, have a pivotal role in reaching goals of development, increase the competitiveness and attractiveness of the whole territory and improve the well-being of the local population. The “Comunità di Valle” public entity seems to have the right level of proximity to the territorial needs, to perform this activity successfully. The adaptation process of modern agriculture on terraces have to be monitored, in order not to compromise the traditional setting of the terraced viticulture and ensure, or possibly enhance, the production of positive environmental externalities for the whole community also in the future.