Pubhshers B.V.. zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA Amst r Jam r elict zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA of vegetational landscape related to seasonal migratory razing in the south of Italy: the ‘Bosco dell’Incoronata’ (Foggia) southern Italy R. Venanzoni*, F. Pedrotti, zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONML A. Manzi Abstract pass transhumance of sheep was an important phenomenon which took place ail over the terrltorles of central and Ital!. The flocks, which m summer were pastured In thy mountains of the central 4penmnes. in wntcr were ross an mtncate nemork of tracks (called ‘Tratturl’ In Italian ) to the lowlands of the 4drlatlc cost and the piams As a result of a cmss this t)pe of sheep-rearing 1s dlsappearlng as well as the characterwcs of the landscape which resulted from theseJourneys. ‘We examme what remams ofthe characterlstlcs of rhe landscape and vegetation of the ‘Bosco dell’lncoronata’ one of the last winter pastures of P@ia. zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDC Introduction Transhumance is ;: very ancient practice and is found particularly in the Mediterranean basin: here in consequence of a climate char- acterised by dry summers and wet winters, this type of sheep-rearing allows the exploitation of mountain pasture in summer and the lowlands in winter ( Ruiz and Ruiz. ! 986). In central and southern Italy sheep-rearing transhumance was practised mainly in two areas (Quilici, 1987 ). The first involved the Papal States and in particular the mountain areas of Marche, Umbria and Lazio in sum- mer and the countryside around Rome and the Maremma in winter, the second, larger one, in- volved the Neapolitan Kingdom where this phenomenon assumed very important dimen- sions. Here the numerous flocks grazed on the mountains of Abruzzo and Molise in summer; in winter they were transferred to the warmer Torrespondmg author. territories of Puglia and to the coastal pastures of Abruzzo and Molise. This phenomenon considerably influenced the society of the period both from the socio- economic and cultural points of view; more- over the repercussions were even greater on the natural landscape wlqich was drastically changed. It is enough to recall the deforesta- tion that took place to make more pastures in the mountains and plains. Consequently, therefore, new landscapes developed with semi- narural characteristics which were colonised by ani.ma1 and plant species particularly of open and steppe habitats. As a result of the crisis of transhumant sheep-rearing and its replace- ment by other economic activities, the envi- ronment and landscape linked to transhum- ante disappeared almost totally, especially on the plains where the repercussions on vegeta- tion and animals were particularly serious. The ‘Bosco de!l’Incoronata in Puglia is one of the few areas where the sheep-rearing land- scape has survived, providing rare and valua- 18 1993 Eisevler Science Pubhshers B.V. Ail rights reserved 0169-2046/93/$06.00