Analysis of the effect on rural turf and landscape of wide coverings for crop growing

The extensive use of protecting structures covered with plastic permeable or not-permeable materials for fruit farming in wide rural areas may generate aesthetic pollution, apart from other negative environmental impacts on water cycle, air and agricultural soil. The variation in the visual perception of the agricultural land, that may modify the whole landscape characteristics, was examined through a GIS software and a three-dimensional modelling of the territory with solid extrusion and an overlap of the photographic images in which the fittings of protected crops were reproduced. The results of these simulations enabled an analysis of environmental and landscape impacts, and were discussed by introducing the concept of a “threshold” limit for the quantity of plastic-covered agricultural structures, together with possible technical modification of texture and colour of the cladding material that could mitigate the aesthetic and environmental impact.