Development patterns of agrozootechnical activities in a mountain environment for the conservation of the territory and the enhancement of local products
The mountain landscape we know and appreciate is the result of a millennial interaction between the natural environment and human activities. Agriculture and in particular stock-rearing have contributed to shaping these territories, interrupting the forest area with meadows and pasture which, until the process of industrialization started, were fundamental resources of the alpine agrozootechnical system. Over the last decades these resources have lost their traditional significance, bringing about the reduction of meadows and pasture. In the meantime, the mountain zootechnical sector has undergone a dramatic evolution. The farms located in the most favourable areas have increased in size and improved their technical and productive efficiency, whereas the smaller family-owned farms, which characterized the most disadvantaged areas, were expelled from the market. For some years now the itinerant production systems, based on the summer mountain grazing, have been met with growing interest by large sectors of our society. Their extensive feature, their infrequent use of external factors, their contribution to the landscape variability, their potential characterization of final products meet the citizens’ expectations in terms of agricultural activities in the mountain environment. The project aims at improving the conditions of the alpicultural sector in two casestudies involving both the Italian and the Slovenian territories (the Cansiglio-Cavallo ridge in Italy and mount Vremscica in Slovenia) through demonstration, experimental and promotional activities.