Forest surface changes and cultural values: The forests of Tuscany (Italy) in the last century

Abstract

Despite the definition of social and cultural values as the third pillar of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) in 2003 and the guidelines for their implementation in SFM in 2007 issued by the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forest in Europe (MCPFE), the importance of cultural values is not sufficiently transferred into forest planning and conservation. Tuscany is widely known for the quality of its cultural landscape, however, the abandonment of agro-pastoral surfaces as a consequence of rural areas depopulation, has led to widespread reforestation and to the abandonment of forest management. In addition, due to the interruption of a regular forest management and to the fact that most of the population lives in cities, forests are no more perceived as part of the cultural heritage, but mainly as a natural landscape. Due to this trend traditional forest management techniques, such as coppicing, have also been considered as a factor of degradation and not even a historical management form. The aim of the study is therefore to analyze forest surface changes in Tuscany in the last century to assess the importance of cultural values. Results highlighted that already in 1881 most of forests were regularly managed and that in 1936 more than 76% of broadleaved forests were managed as coppice. Between 1936 and 2016 forests increased their surface from 876,518 to 1,161,383 hectares due to the abandonment of the countryside, and 30% of the forests currently included in protected areas are the result of secondary successions. The findings of this study suggest the revision of national forest policies and, more in general, the adaptation of forest strategies to local conditions.