Exploring the uses and landscape value of Ceratonia siliqua L.: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

Ceratonia siliqua L. belonging to the Leguminosae (Fabaceae) family, has been cultivated for millennia and is recognized as a valuable botanical resource. However, global production of this tree is rapidly declining. This paper aims to examine the primary uses of carob trees and highlight their value in the landscape by developing a systematic review of Scopus documents from 1980 to 2023. The resulting 2130 documents revealed that the main studied uses of carob trees are in human medicine and food. Additionally, 3.85% of these documents studied the landscape value of carob trees, emphasizing their role in improving landscape resilience, preserving rural identities, and fostering the development of geo-specific strategies for slow tourism. This systematic review underscores the multifaceted importance of Ceratonia siliqua L. in both cultural and environmental contexts, advocating for its preservation and sustainable use.

KEYWORDS:

• Carob tree
• ancient cultivar
• provisioning services
• cultural services
• sustainable tourism
• rural landscape
• traditional landscape
• landscape resilience
• landscape recovery
• VOSviewer software

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/14728028.2024.2346725.