Paper short abstract:

Combining reconstructions of temporal variations in the olive phenological stages and spatial variations of its cultivation patterns in Sicily, a window opens on the long-term management of this tree, a Cultural Keystone Species for the local biological diversity and cultural identity.

Paper long abstract:

Thanks to its unique position in the Mediterranean, Sicily is home to important ecological reservoirs, a special case for their long-term entanglements with humans.

The island has been a cross-road and colonisation target by diverse ethnic and cultural groups for millennia. The persistence of certain biocultural refugia, as the olive tree (Olea Europea var. sativa), is the non-discursive result of a long-term negotiation process between the ecological knowledge of locals and the ecological practices introduced by new settlers at different points in time, and between them and the natural environment.

With time, the olive has become a Cultural Keystone Species, and its cultivation has more and more played a crucial role for biodiversity conservation, the livelihood of rural communities and their deep enrooted cultural identity. Under critical pressure due to global market forces and climatic changes today, these long-lasting agrosystems may nonetheless offer insights on how to tackle adaptation challenges and manage agrobiodiversity sustainably in the future.

Our contribution looks at the management of these complex agro-ecological systems along centennial time-scales through a transdisciplinary approach which combines local ecological memory and landscape archaeology. By integrating reconstructions of temporal variations in the olive phenological stages (extracted from the ecological calendars of the different cultures crossing the island) and the spatial variations of their local cultivation patterns for maintenance and use (Ferrara et al. 2020, Ferrara and Wästfelt 2021), we open a window to better understand the conservation practices that locals have adjusted along with environmental and climatic changes over the centuries.