1.2 Detalhes do contato das pessoas capacitadas e instituições envolvidas na avaliação e documentação da tecnologia

Nome do projeto que facilitou a documentação/avaliação da Tecnologia (se relevante)

Preventing and Remediating degradation of soils in Europe through Land Care (EU-RECARE )

Nome da(s) instituição(ões) que facilitou(ram) a documentação/ avaliação da Tecnologia (se relevante)

The Cyprus Institute (The Cyprus Institute) - Chipre

1.3 Condições em relação ao uso da informação documentada através de WOCAT

O/a compilador/a e a(s) pessoa(s) capacitada(s) aceitam as condições relativas ao uso de dados documentados através da WOCAT:

Sim

1.4 Declaração de sustentabilidade da tecnologia descrita

A tecnologia descrita aqui é problemática em relação a degradação da terra de forma que não pode ser declarada uma tecnologia de gestão sustentável de terra?

Não

1.5 Referência ao(s) questionário(s) sobre abordagens GST (documentado(s) usando WOCAT)

2.1 Descrição curta da tecnologia

Definição da tecnologia:

Dry-stone terraces built to create agricultural land, minimise soil erosion and retain soil moisture on steep mountain slopes.

2.2 Descrição detalhada da tecnologia

Descrição:

Dry-stone terraces consist of a series of nearly levelled platforms built along contour lines at suitable intervals. These structures characterise a large part of the landscape in Cyprus, and especially in communities around Troodos Mountains where large areas have been converted to agricultural terraces. The typical terraces found in the study-area are narrow (1-3 m) to medium-base (3-6 m) bench terraces, constructed by cutting and filling in slopes between 20-40%. The terraces are supported by walls, whereby stone is the only construction material without any binding mortar.

Terracing is one of the oldest means of cultivating slopes while saving soil and water. Due to the steep terrain of Troodos Mountains, the establishment of terraces acts as sediment trap storing the washed-off soil material within the slope. In general, terraces were created to stop or reduce the degrading effect of soil erosion by intercepting and controlling the surface run-off velocity and by facilitating its slower infiltration. In such a way, the sediment that accumulates behind the terraces has created suitable land for farming. In addition, the construction of dry-stone walls serves a dual purpose: to clear the land from large rock and stones, and to enhance the stability of the bench terraces against loss of top-soil. This is a type of technology that was very much used in the past and seen today as an important cultural landscape and heritage for these communities.

The construction of dry-stone walls was usually completed by the family who owned the field. Men undertook the building while the rest of the family carried the stones; assistance was also offered by relatives and friends of the family. First, the topography, the height and shape of the terrace is evaluated. Using a fuse, the craftsman shapes a straight line which would follow while building the wall. The foundations are created by excavating a pit of ~0.3-0.5 m, depending on the type of soils and the size of the wall; fuse, pick, mattock and shovel are the typical tools used. The pit is filled with large, irregular-shaped stones.

The stones are used in their natural shape for the construction of the walls without any processing. They are separated according to their shape, size and texture. The stones usually come from the cleaning of fields which will be cultivated or from a small-scale quarrying of the mountain slope using pick and lever. Large and irregular stones are used for the foundations, and the more regular ones for the construction of walls. The smaller stones are placed in between the large stones as the linchpin, to provide better stability to the structure.
The wall follows the land inclination and is laid over the foundation. Large stones are placed on the lower courses of the wall and on the exterior side. The stones are placed by hand one over the other, while smaller stones and rubbles are put between them in order to achieve more stability and better positioning; the stones cross both vertically and horizontally in order to avoid the creation of columns which will make the structure less stable. The wall is built lengthwise following the foundations and it reclines inwards; declination from the foundations does not exceed 5%. The back side of the wall is filled-up with more irregular stones which are not suitable to be placed on the front side. The filling connects the wall with the soil and stabilises the structure, and allows the drainage of water that is collected from the terrace and is discharged through the stones of the wall.

Terrace farming of grapes, nut and fruit trees, along with natural (mainly sclerophylous) vegetation constitute the predominant land uses in this area. The total population in the eight mountain communities of Peristerona Watershed has decreased by more than 50% over the past 30 years. The depopulation of mountain communities is associated with the urbanisation trends and the high farming costs which led to the gradual reduction of agricultural activities in the area. These socio-economic attributes form the main constraining factors for soil conservation. Thus, although terraces have a particularly beneficial effect in maintaining the productive capacity of soils in these communities, the significant changes in the socio-economic structure of the agricultural population over the last decades and the high maintenance and labour required, has led farmers to gradually abandon terrace farming. Consequently, many of the mountain terraces are no longer cultivated and dry stone walls are not maintained, causing sometimes a domino effect of collapsing terraces.

2.3 Fotos da tecnologia

2.5 País/região/locais onde a tecnologia foi aplicada e que estão cobertos nesta avaliação

2.6 Data da implementação

Caso o ano exato seja desconhecido, indique a data aproximada:

• mais de 50 anos atrás (tradicional)

2.7 Introdução da tecnologia

Especifique como a tecnologia foi introduzida:

• Como parte do sistema tradicional (>50 anos)

Comentários (tipos de projeto, etc.):

Dry-stone terracing has been practice for centuries in Cyprus and in the study area. The rehabilitation of dry-stone terraces through community-based activities has been introduced in 2015 by the RECARE project case-study team and the local communities.

3.1 Principal/principais finalidade(s) da tecnologia

• Reduz, previne, recupera a degradação do solo

3.2 Tipo(s) atualizado(s) de uso da terra onde a tecnologia foi aplicada

Comentários:

Major land use problems (compiler’s opinion): Soil erosion by water from degraded and collapsing dry-stone terraces.
Loss of productive capacity.
Major land use problems (land users’ perception): Gradual collapse of dry-stone walls.
Root rot and yield failure as a result of water-logging which is linked to poor drainage in terraced fields.

3.4 Abastecimento de água

Abastecimento de água para a terra na qual a tecnologia é aplicada:

• Precipitação natural

3.5 Grupo de GST ao qual pertence a tecnologia

• Medidas de curva de nível

3.6 Medidas de GST contendo a tecnologia

Comentários:

Main measures: structural measures

3.7 Principais tipos de degradação da terra abordados pela tecnologia

Comentários:

Main type of degradation addressed: Wt: loss of topsoil / surface erosion
Secondary types of degradation addressed: Wo: offsite degradation effects
Main causes of degradation: other human induced causes (specify) (Gradual abandonment of mountain agriculture), other natural causes (avalanches, volcanic eruptions, mud flows, highly susceptible natural resources, extreme topography, etc.) specify (Steep mountain terrain)
Secondary causes of degradation: land tenure (Small, fractured agricultural plots), governance / institutional (Lack of institutions for terrace maintenance)

3.8 Redução, prevenção ou recuperação da degradação do solo

Especifique o objetivo da tecnologia em relação a degradação da terra:

• Prevenir degradação do solo
• Recuperar/reabilitar solo severamente degradado

4.1 Desenho técnico da tecnologia

4.2 Informação geral em relação ao cálculo de entradas e custos

Outro/moeda nacional (especifique):

Euro

Se for relevante, indique a taxa de câmbio do USD para moeda local (por exemplo, 1 USD = 79,9 Real): 1 USD =:

0,88

4.3 Atividades de implantação

	Atividade	Periodicidade (estação do ano)
1.	Land leveling and foundation	Early autumn or late spring
2.	Collection and transfer of stones	Early autumn or late spring
3.	Construction of stone-wall	Early autumn or late spring

4.4 Custos e entradas necessárias para a implantação

	Especifique a entrada	Unidade	Quantidade	Custos por unidade	Custos totais por entrada	% dos custos arcados pelos usuários da terra
Mão-de-obra	Labour		4000,0	45,6	182400,0	100,0
Custos totais para a implantação da tecnologia					182400,0
Custos totais para o estabelecimento da Tecnologia em USD					207272,73

Comentários:

Duration of establishment phase: 83 month(s)

4.5 Atividades recorrentes/manutenção

	Atividade	Periodicidade/frequência
1.	Repairing collapsed walls	Early autumn (before onset of rains), only on collapsed walls

4.6 Custos e entradas necessárias pata a manutenção/atividades recorrentes (por ano)

	Especifique a entrada	Unidade	Quantidade	Custos por unidade	Custos totais por entrada	% dos custos arcados pelos usuários da terra
Mão-de-obra	Labour		200,0	9,12	1824,0	100,0
Custos totais para a manutenção da tecnologia					1824,0
Custos totais de manutenção da Tecnologia em USD					2072,73

Comentários:

Machinery/ tools: Wedge, hammer, pick, hoe and bucket are the typical tools used for by stone builders for the construction and maintenance of dry-stone terraces.
The costs estimates are averages and were calculated for the length of terrace structures, i.e. per running meter of terrace walls. The average height of dry-stone walls is 1.5 meter and it takes approximately 5 hours/meter for a builder to fully construct it. This includes 1 hour/meter for land levelling and foundation, 1 hour/meter for the collection and transfer of the necessary stones and 3 hours/meter for building the wall. Stones are abundant in the area; builders do not charge for the stones but for the time required to collect and transfer. Also, each builder has its own tools (i.e. wedge, hammer, pick, hoe and bucket). Terrace builders charge 8 €/hour (or 9.12 $/hour). On average, there are approximately 4000 running meters of terrace walls per hectare. The above information is used to convert the construction cost per hectare.
Maintenance activities include reconstruction of the terrace walls, only in case of collapsing. The reconstruction takes 1 hour/meter. For the annual maintenance estimates, it is assumed that 200 out of 4000 meters of terrace walls per hectare (or 5%) will require maintenance. In other words, a newly constructed wall will be maintained once every 20 years, on average.

4.7 Fatores mais importantes que afetam os custos

Descreva os fatores mais determinantes que afetam os custos:

The principal input cost for the construction and maintenance of terraces is manual labour. There are only few dry-stone builders in the area.

5.1 Clima

5.2 Topografia

Indique se a tecnologia é aplicada especificamente em:

• Não relevante

5.3 Solos

5.4 Disponibilidade e qualidade de água

5.5 Biodiversidade

5.6 Características dos usuários da terra que utilizam a tecnologia

Indique outras características relevantes dos usuários da terra:

Land users applying the Technology are mainly common / average land users
Population density: 10-50 persons/km2
Annual population growth: negative; 4%
100% of the land users are average wealthy.
Off-farm income specification: Farming is a part-time activity for most land users in the area.

5.7 Área média de terrenos utilizados pelos usuários de terrenos que aplicam a Tecnologia

5.8 Propriedade de terra, direitos de uso da terra e de uso da água

Propriedade da terra:

• Indivíduo, intitulado

Direitos do uso da terra:

• Indivíduo

Comentários:

Agricultural land is privately owned

5.9 Acesso a serviços e infraestrutura

6.1 Impactos no local mostrados pela tecnologia

Impactos socioeconômicos

Produção

Disponibilidade e qualidade de água

Renda e custos

Impactos socioculturais

Impactos ecológicos

Ciclo hídrico/escoamento

Solo

Biodiversidade: vegetação, animais

Clima e redução de riscos de desastre

Outros impactos ecológicos

6.2 Impactos externos mostrados pela tecnologia

6.3 Exposição e sensibilidade da tecnologia às mudanças climáticas graduais e extremos/desastres relacionados ao clima (conforme o ponto de vista dos usuários da terra)

Mudança climática gradual

Mudança climática gradual

	Estação do ano	aumento ou diminuição	Como a tecnologia lida com isso?
Temperatura anual		aumento	bem

Extremos (desastres) relacionados ao clima

Desastres meteorológicos

	Como a tecnologia lida com isso?
Temporal local	não bem
Tempestade de vento local	não conhecido

Desastres climatológicos

	Como a tecnologia lida com isso?
Seca	bem

Desastres hidrológicos

	Como a tecnologia lida com isso?
Inundação geral (rio)	não bem

Outras consequências relacionadas ao clima

Outras consequências relacionadas ao clima

	Como a tecnologia lida com isso?
Período de crescimento reduzido	bem

6.4 Análise do custo-benefício

Como os benefícios se comparam aos custos de implantação (do ponto de vista dos usuários da terra)?

Como os benefícios se comparam aos custos recorrentes/de manutenção(do ponto de vista dos usuários da terra)?

6.5 Adoção da tecnologia

• > 50%

Se disponível, determine a quantidade (número de unidades familiares e/ou área abordada):

90% of the land user families and 8% of the stated area

De todos aqueles que adotaram a Tecnologia, quantos o fizeram espontaneamente, ou seja, sem receber nenhum incentivo/ pagamento material?

• 11-50%

Comentários:

10% of land user families have adopted the Technology without any external material support
90% of land user families have adopted the Technology with external material support
Comments on acceptance with external material support: The majority of existing terraces in the area were subsidized.
There is a little trend towards spontaneous adoption of the Technology
Comments on adoption trend: There are very few farmers that maintain existing terraces or construct new ones.

6.7 Pontos fortes/vantagens/oportunidades da tecnologia

Pontos fortes/vantagens/oportunidades na visão do/a compilador/a ou de outra pessoa capacitada
Indigenous technology of great agro-ecological value, adapted to local conditions.
Soil maintained on steep mountain slopes, thus reducing soil loss due to water erosion.
Terraces maintain the productive capacity of soils on steep slopes.
Water retention and longer storage of soil moisture, thus improving water use efficiency.
Terraces are part of cultural landscapes and heritage

6.8 Pontos fracos, desvantagens/riscos da tecnologia e formas de superá-los

Pontos fracos/vantagens/riscos na visão do/a compilador/a ou de outra pessoa capacitada	Como eles podem ser superados?
Maintenance of dry-stone wall terraces is costly and labour intensive.	Promote community-based terrace maintenance and utilise available community/subsidy funds for small cash compensation to terrace experts.
Terrace maintenance requires expert knowledge.	Motivate the younger generation to engage in part-time terrace farming.
Aging of the dry-stone experts.	Train young land users/owners on dry-stone terracing.
Technology does not lend itself to mechanisation.	Not possible to overcome.

7.1 Métodos/fontes de informação

7.2 Referências às publicações disponíveis

Título, autor, ano, ISBN:

FAO, 2000. Manual on integrated soil management and conservation practices. FAO Land and Water Bulletin 8, Rome, Italy: 230 pp.TPH, 2007. Dry stone constructions of Cyprus. PIO, Nicosia.