Ancient olive trees in the Mediterranean landscape

Ancient olive trees play an important role in the Mediterranean Landscape. Many of them are more then 500 years old and characterize several landscapes in a unique way. In the last 50 years the number of Italian ancient olive trees are dramatically decreasing, with a consequent change in traditional landscapes. An increasing demand in the gardening sector, a strong competition in the oil market that makes in many case unprofitable to cultivate olive trees, and the demand for new olive cultivars easier to manage, are forcing toward an elimination of these old trees. Italian legislation is trying to protect ancient olive trees since 1946 making illegal cutting them.The key question we address concerns whether imposing a ban on ancient olive trees cutting can result in an efficient solution to landscape preservation.