ABSTRACT
The industrial agricultural and agribusiness global food complex is increasingly geared to standardization and uniformity in production, supply chains, and retailing. Across the globe, agricultural practices and their landscapes are homogenizing. This results in agricultural landscapes and regions that lack identifiable character with their place of production. Despite this trajectory, distinctive agricultural landscapes can be identified which defy these global trends. These are what we term novel landscapes. They have emerged from specific socio-cultural, economic, environmental, and climatic conditions resulting in landscapes readily linked to a particular region. Unique agricultural practices have modified landscapes so that they are unmistakably representative of specific location climate. Capacity to innovate in response to place-specific conditions is likely to become essential as we face increasing climatic and resource challenges. It also marks a shift in values that recognizes diversity in agricultural practice as both an environmentally practical and culturally significant good. This chapter explores this potential, presenting horticultural case examples that illustrate novel horticultural landscapes from ancient vineyards to climate-controlled and artificially lit contemporary greenhouses.
