Preserving Characteristics of the Agricultural Landscape through Agri-Environmental Policies: The Case of Cultivation Terraces in Greece

Landscapes are made from different components and elements, some of which are characterized through their presence and patterns. The assessment of this character is performed via the identification of landscape characteristics. For agricultural landscapes, such characteristics can be natural elements or elements of farming systems. Their preservation can be of great importance in Europe today, and agri-environmental measures have been used towards this goal. One such characteristic in Greece is cultivation terraces, today widely neglected, as the cultivations they supported are abandoned or modernized. This paper discusses the effectiveness of an agri-environmental policy measure for the reconstruction of cultivation terraces in Greece, with regard to existing practices of farmers. A picture for the whole country is presented and farmers' practices are discussed with greater detail through research with farmers that have been supported on the island of Lesvos. Findings from Lesvos reveal that onl...