World Terraced Landscapes: History, Environment, Quality of Life

Terraces are one of the most important examples of the world’s agricultural heritage accumulated over some millenniums of human history. They represent remarkable landscape systems characterizing many regions of the world, especially in fragile and precious ecosystems, such as hills and mountains. Their diffusion dates back to the early development of agriculture; in Europe, they have been found in archeological sites of the copper age, but their presence is reported also in Central America, Africa, and Asia, making them a common heritage of many different countries and ethnic groups. This book collects a wide range of reviewed research material, showing a growing interest of the scientific community for this topic, providing also new research material. Thanks to the activity of the International Terraced Landscapes Alliance (ITLA), as well as to the passionate work of spontaneous groups of practitioners materialized in the last few years in many rural territories, the knowledge associated with terraces can survive. The hope is that a transdisciplinary scientific approach, together with local communities and the support of public policies, can effectively help to maintain an active role of these systems in the society and the economy. In this respect, the environmental history series of Springer really welcome this book, hoping that it will meet the same success of other works already published