154 J. Kuiper Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 77 2000 143–156
Fig. 3. Olive yard on Crete with bare underground and added Cypressus planting.
Fig. 4. Olive yard on Crete with herb vegetation and added Cypressus planting.
to sustainable landscape quality. It did not reflect an important landscape element. A planting aligning an
important landscape element like an old local road, a crest, or a brook will have more chance to improve
durable aesthetic and ecological qualities than an in- discriminate planting.
The organic farmer also added some scattered fruit trees between the olive yards. The fruit trees add, lo-
cally, colors and smells, but do not result in a distinc- tive landscape element that contributes to aesthetic or
ecological quality.
5. Evaluation of landscape quality
The contribution of organic farms to landscape quality is evaluated by two sets of criteria, one
for non-expert and one for expert values. The implementation is made by means of a checklist.
J. Kuiper Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 77 2000 143–156 155
This is because it is not rational to demand a certain amount of diversity of landscape elements or smells
all over Europe. The organic farm is evaluated in comparison to an adjacent conventional farm in the
same landscape unit.
5.1. Evaluation of the organic farms by the criteria for non-experts
The visited organic farms evoke the feeling of ‘nat- uralness’ better than the adjacent conventional farms.
More sensory qualities such as flower perfumes and bird songs were experienced. The seasons were also
more obvious on the organic farms, for instance by added planting or fruit trees.
On the organic farms often ‘neglected’ corners or fields were visible, as if the conversion, the sometimes
hostile conventional neighbors and the surplus of work on the farm seemed to cost too much energy.
On the traditional farm in the Dehesa landscape of Andalusia, the visitors felt protected against extreme
weather influences, inspired to be involved and com- fortable. On the adjacent modern farm, the visitors felt
exposed, sad and uncomfortable.
On the visited organic farms in the Netherlands and Portugal more attention was paid to the component
water, for instance by restoring ditches and old wells, than on the adjacent conventional farms.
On the organic olive yards on Crete, old trees and husbandry were missing in the landscape and rubbish
was found. The feeling of historicity was evoked by the restoration of the old farmhouses.
5.2. Evaluation of the organic farms by the criteria for experts
On the visited organic farms there was more diver- sity of crops, of different treatments of the same crop
and more diversity of species within one field. This increased diversity was more often due to the farm-
ers initiative on Crete, Toscany and sometimes the result of adaptation to abiotic features Cordoba, the
Netherlands. On the visited organic farms there was more biodiversity than on adjacent farms because of
added linear planting elements, or natural vegetation.
The visited organic farms succeeded so far quite well in improving the ecological quality considered
on farm level. However on Crete, the ‘natural’ elements, plant-
ing or field margins did not seem to fit into a re- gional ecological network. Kabourakis 1996 wrote
that “present ecological agriculture has no explicit guidelines and technology for landscape and nature.
In ecological farming systems biodiversity is to be in- creased especially by an ecological infrastructure”.
The use of both the hills and the plains for olive yards does not reflect the difference of abiotic
potentials. The visited organic farmers seemed to pay less at-
tention to the demanded aesthetic qualities. New plant- ing which could contribute to the orientation in space
and to the identity of the landscape unit was rare. On the most farms the added planting did not relate to im-
portant landscape elements. The hydrological system, for instance, was not very legible.
In the organic olive yards with a high herb layer under the low stem trees, there was less diversity of
contrasting perceptions than in the yards with short grass or bare land. It is unlikely that olive yards with
a high herb layer under the low stem trees become a source of inspiration for artists and photographers.
The contribution of the farms to the orientation in time was visible in the restoration of old farm houses.
The former terraces of Crete and Toscany however were leveled. This may well have happened before the
conversion into organic farming.
6. Discussion
