OUR PILOTSTurning innovation, resilience, and sustainability into real-world impact

The experimentation focuses on comparing various stages of succession, ranging from agricultural use to abandoned land and climax dehesas. Research plots will be established to represent different dehesa utilisation scenarios, including grazing and agriculture, and various stages within the transition.

The primary objective is to advance succession through close-to-nature management techniques, such as natural regeneration of Quercus ilex and biomass management through livestock. Data will be collected through onsite and lab measurements, including assessments of edaphological quality, soil carbon sequestration, livestock methane fluxes, and biodiversity. In addition, observational nodes will be installed onsite to enable automated monitoring of the experiments.

One such research node will facilitate remote management and continuous observation of climate, vegetation index, soil CO2 fluxes, temperature, humidity, and alkalinity.

In a randomised complete block design involving four blocks (different farms), three treatment strips will be implemented:

1. Following local farmers’ practices as a positive control.
2. Green fertilisation using legumes/grasses as cover crops.
3. Addition of manure.

A plot within an adjustment chestnut forest will serve as the control for land use change. Various parameters will be assessed, including sequestration dynamics, soil physical, chemical, and biological health indicators (such as bulk density, soil texture, nutrient availability, alkalinity, soil carbon mineralisation, soil microbial biomass C, and ammonia), soil biodiversity (with estimation of microbiome diversity), and efficient use of fertilizers. Yield quantity and quality parameters will also be evaluated to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of each treatment for tree cultivation. Additionally, sensors installed in each field will monitor soil and air temperature, soil moisture, and CO2 levels. Data collected from the experiments will be utilized for modelling climate change scenarios resulting from land use change.

The pilot research plots are situated at the ‘Sasse Rami’ farm in Ceregnano, Province of Rovigo, N-E Italy, managed by AVISP in collaboration with UNIPD. These plots will focus on agroforestry trials initiated in 2009, which involve crop rotations of cereal-soybean-maize and the cultivation of poplar clones with Greater Environmental Sustainability (GES). These GES clones, resilient to diseases but vulnerable to woodworm initially, significantly reduce the need for phytosanitary treatments and can serve as natural barriers when intercalated with annual agricultural crops.

The technological characteristics, productivity, and timber quality of these clones will be thoroughly analysed through basic research. AVISP will provide previous dendro-axometric data to develop economic models and assess the carbon sequestration potential from working timber use. The effects of agroforestry systems on soil organic matter (SOM) stabilization, soil microbial biomass carbon, soil enzyme activities related to carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus mineralization, as well as emissions of CO2, CH4, N2O, and NH3, will be evaluated to determine the greenhouse gas mitigation potential of agroforestry. Continuous monitoring will observe vegetation indices to assess plant productivity and local climatic conditions.

Experimental research will focus on determining the state and changes in the soil, water, and biodiversity of the wetland where wet grasslands near the Sava River prevail, which are used as extensive pastures, measurements and observations will focus on the impact of such use of this protected area on the condition of the soil and biodiversity. In addition, the impact of invasive non-native plants and the use of pilot areas as retention on carbon storage and the functioning of these valuable ecosystems in changed climate conditions will be examined. To establish appropriate monitoring of field conditions and changes in the plots laboratories and discrete by collecting samples in the field.

The research endeavour aims to explore the intricate details of soil health and gas exchange within two different stages of plant growth: karst grassland and the gradual progression of vegetation in the sub-Mediterranean area. Building on insights gained from fifteen years of initial monitoring, the study seeks to broaden its scope to cover a wider area in the Mediterranean region, paying special attention to areas where agriculture is giving way to forests. Through careful examination, the project seeks to understand various aspects of this transition, including how forests develop over time, how carbon is stored in the soil (referred to as soil organic matter or SOM), changes in soil life, and emissions from the environment. Furthermore, efforts are being made to improve the capabilities of existing monitoring sites to ensure better quality data, which will help in understanding the changing landscape more effectively. Additionally, the project plans to introduce specific interventions aimed at finding new ways to track the growth cycles of forest plants, paying close attention to how they relate to soil conditions.

On an agricultural intensive research plot’s pilot site (of orchard and sour cherry), the experimentation and analysis will focus on improving the soil water retention capacity and soil organic layer erosion control, through the implementation of conservation land & crop management practices. The project is aiming at improved fertilization and on showcase of results by the implementation of precision, digitally supported agriculture methodologies (soil maps, variable rate fertilization (VRF) recommendations, crop health maps, and precise fertigation). The measurements will include precise environmental monitoring, soil physical, chemical and microbiological assessment, and CO2 andCH4 gas fluxes.