Italian Soil Management from Antiquity to Nowadays

In Italy, soil management has a long story since the story of land use is as old as the occupation of the country by different peoples. The innovations that were concocted during the time depended on the difficulties the peoples encountered in the various places they settled, and on the human history. As a result, the anthropic impact on soil formation in Italy is particularly marked in all the agricultural areas. Besides deforestation, ploughing, liming, manuring, and fertilizing, some practices that particularly characterize Italian soil management have a strong effect on pedogenesis: (i) change of the relief by levelling, terracing, and burying of the previous surface, (ii) modification of the soil moisture regime through irrigation and/or drainage, and (iii) frequent and intensive cultivations, which enhance soil erosion. In addition, soil management has been frequently driven by policies such as laws and regulations and economic instruments like subsidies and taxes.