V. 81 N. 2s (2026): Atti della Conferenza Foreste vetuste e antichi alberi: un tesoro di natura, vita e cultura. Firenze 1 ottobre 2025 / Vallombrosa 2-3 ottobre 2025
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Integral ecology and old-growth forests: a reading in the light of Laudato si’

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  • Lamberto Iezzi
Lamberto Iezzi
Prometeo in Venezia - Centro di Ricerca e Innovazione, Venice, Italy.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/ifm-1251

Pubblicato 2026-10-06

Parole chiave

  • integral ecology,
  • old-growth forests,
  • Laudato si',
  • interdependence,
  • technocratic paradigm

Come citare

Iezzi, L. (2026). Integral ecology and old-growth forests: a reading in the light of Laudato si’. L’Italia Forestale E Montana, 81(2s), 297–309. https://doi.org/10.36253/ifm-1251

Copyright (c) 2026 Lamberto Iezzi

Creative Commons License

Questo lavoro è fornito con la licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale 4.0 Internazionale.

Abstract

This contribution explores the paradigmatic value of old-growth forests as a possible concrete expression of the principles of integral ecology set forth in Laudato si’. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the inquiry draws together Franciscan spirituality and certain currents of the Western philosophical tradition - from the Presocratics to Jonas - with the findings of contemporary forest ecology. Old-growth forests are interpreted not as mere objects of conservation, but as structures that embody a form of systemic stability in which cooperation operates alongside competitive dynamics without suppressing them, but integrating them. The essay further shows how the encounter between Emanuele Severino’s critique of technology and the experimental evidence on mycorrhizal networks yields a vision of resilience grounded in the recognition of limit and interdependence, as an alternative to purely functional management models. Within this framework, forest complexity - with the due caution that precludes any mechanical transposition - can offer guiding criteria of discernment in the debate on the challenges of technological development, including artificial intelligence, and in the examination of the foundations of social organisation. Old-growth forests emerge, in conclusion, as a conceptual reference point of genuine consequence for approaching the environmental and civic crises of our time with greater awareness.

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