--- title: "Shaping the Ground" type: challenge locale: en url: https://liminalfutures.com/challenges/shaping-the-ground date: "2025-04-01" summary: "Shaping the Ground was a 2024 action-research challenge in Monti Prenestini (Lazio, Italy) that prototyped a replicable method for mapping fruit-tree biodiversity in transitional agricultural landscapes." --- # Shaping the Ground Type: challenge Status: complete Dates: 2024-09-30 – 2024-10-31 People: Ginevra D’Agostino; Nicolás Delgado Alcega; Gaël Glaudel; Natasha Balwit-Cheung; Dipon Bose; Justin Cheung; Alessandro Gori; Maren Louttit Johnson; Lindsay Lebel; Silvia Pennisi Organizations: Comune di Castel San Pietro Romano; Comune di Capranica Prenestina; Comune di Rocca di Cave; Ministero della Cultura; GAL Castelli Romani e Monti Prenestini; Landscape First; Agriturismo La Mandera; Agriturismo Fontana a Valle; Agriturismo Colle Roscio; Agenzia Regionale per lo Sviluppo e l’Innovazione dell’Agricoltura del Lazio (ARSIAL); Viviamo Rocca di Cave APS; Associazione A.L.API; Liminal Places: Castel San Pietro Romano; Capranica Prenestina; Rocca di Cave Protocols: Fruit-tree mapping toolkit Commentaries: Shaping the Ground: Mapping the fruit tree biodiversity of transitioning landscapes; Shaping the Ground ## Summary Shaping the Ground was a 2024 action-research challenge in Monti Prenestini (Lazio, Italy) that prototyped a replicable method for mapping fruit-tree biodiversity in transitional agricultural landscapes. ## Work Shaping the Ground was a 2024 action-research Challenge in Monti Prenestini (Lazio, Italy) that prototyped a replicable method for mapping fruit-tree biodiversity in transitional agricultural landscapes: the first concrete step toward a territorial laboratory envisioned in Transitioning a Landscape. It ran from September 30 to October 31, 2024, with 6 days on the ground. The Challenge progressed through four phases—tool design, pilot field testing, a landscape enhancement exercise with Landscape First, and data processing—and focused on learning, documenting, and stewarding tree resources with farmers and local associations. Its toolkit comprises: (i) a specification sheet for describing species and cultivars; (ii) a smartphone-based digital form for georeferenced, image-rich specimen records; and (iii) an executive summary of arboricultural techniques to support participatory surveys. Applied across discontinuous plots in the municipalities of Castel San Pietro Romano, Capranica Prenestina, and Rocca di Cave (sample area 9.3 ha), the pilot mapped 542 trees spanning 19 species, revealing distribution patterns, management histories, and the strategic role of field margins. The work connects to the Region of Lazio's stewardship pathways (e.g., ARSIAL and the Voluntary Regional Register of Plant Genetic Resources: RVR), positioning fruit-tree biodiversity as a lever for identity-driven rural regeneration. ## Outputs - Produced Fruit-tree mapping toolkit - Produced Shaping the Ground: Mapping the fruit tree biodiversity of transitioning landscapes - Discussed in Shaping the Ground ## Related - Led by [Ginevra D’Agostino](/people/ginevra-dagostino) - Led by [Nicolás Delgado Alcega](/people/nicolas-delgado-alcega) - Led by [Gaël Glaudel](/people/gael-glaudel) - Participant [Natasha Balwit-Cheung](/people/natasha-balwit-cheung) - Participant [Dipon Bose](/people/dipon-bose) - Participant [Justin Cheung](/people/justin-cheung) - Participant [Alessandro Gori](/people/alessandro-gori) - Participant [Maren Louttit Johnson](/people/maren-louttit-johnson) - Participant [Lindsay Lebel](/people/lindsay-lebel) - Participant [Silvia Pennisi](/people/silvia-pennisi) - Authored by [Ginevra D’Agostino](/people/ginevra-dagostino) - Authored by [Nicolás Delgado Alcega](/people/nicolas-delgado-alcega) - Authored by [Gaël Glaudel](/people/gael-glaudel) - Financing partner [Comune di Castel San Pietro Romano](/organizations/comune-di-castel-san-pietro-romano) - Financing partner [Comune di Capranica Prenestina](/organizations/comune-di-capranica-prenestina) - Financing partner [Comune di Rocca di Cave](/organizations/comune-di-rocca-di-cave) - Financing partner [Ministero della Cultura](/organizations/ministero-della-cultura) - Operative partner [GAL Castelli Romani e Monti Prenestini](/organizations/gal-castelli-romani-e-monti-prenestini) - Operative partner [Landscape First](/organizations/landscape-first) - Engaged actor [Agriturismo La Mandera](/organizations/agriturismo-la-mandera) - Engaged actor [Agriturismo Fontana a Valle](/organizations/agriturismo-fontana-a-valle) - Engaged actor [Agriturismo Colle Roscio](/organizations/agriturismo-colle-roscio) - Engaged actor [Agenzia Regionale per lo Sviluppo e l’Innovazione dell’Agricoltura del Lazio (ARSIAL)](/organizations/arsial) - Engaged actor [Viviamo Rocca di Cave APS](/organizations/viviamo-rocca-di-cave) - Engaged actor [Associazione A.L.API](/organizations/associazione-a-l-api) - Authored by [Liminal](/organizations/liminal) - Located in [Castel San Pietro Romano](/places/castel-san-pietro-romano) - Located in [Capranica Prenestina](/places/capranica-prenestina) - Located in [Rocca di Cave](/places/rocca-di-cave)