Soil quality evaluation under agro-silvo-pastoral Mediterranean management systems

According to Franzluebber (2002) the degree of stratification of soil organic C and N, as well as other parameters, with soil depth, expressed as a ratio, can indicate soil quality or soil ecosystem functioning and sustainability under different agricultural management. Stratification ratios > 2 indicate a higher soil quality and contribution to agriculture sustainability. A case study from northeastern Sardinia (Italy) is presented

Effetti fisiologici ed agronomici della ventosità su <i>Zea mais</i> L.

The research was carried out using an 8 coltural units lisimetric equipment for hydroponic crops. During 1995, two treatments on maize Vitrex 200 hybrid were carried out in the open air. One treatment was subjected to supplementary wind by fans, able to generate a 4 m s-1 speed air flux. The second treatment was protected from wind, resulting in anemometric calm conditions during the entire vegetative cycle of mais. The water losses by transpiration were daily or periodically collected on each coltural unit using a Mariot principles meter. The evaporative water losses were eliminated by covering the substrate with a plastic film. The results show a dwarfing effect of the wind. The height of the plants subjected to supplementary wind was significantly reduced by 35 cm and the grain yield was significantly reduced from 162 to 147 g per plant; the transpiration rate per unit leaf area (TAF) was resulted higher: 2.82 vs 2.50 mm d-1; at the same time, the transpired water use efficiency (TWUE) was lower: 2.38 g of dry grain per 1000 g of transpired water vs 2.68 g collected on the wind protected treatment. La ricerca è stata condotta utilizzando un impianto lisimetrico per colture idroponiche costituito da 8 unità colturali. Nel corso del 1995 si sono realizzate in piena aria due tesi coltivate a mais ibrido «Vitrex 200». Una tesi è stata sottoposta a ventilazione addizionale tramite ventilatori in grado di creare una corrente d'aria alla velocità costante di 4 m s-1. Una seconda tesi è stata opportunamente protetta dal vento ed è risultata quindi caratterizzata da condizioni anemometriche di calma per tutta la durata del ciclo vegetativo del mais. Un misuratore il cui funzionamento utilizza il principio della bottiglia di Mariot ha consentito la quantificazione delle perdite idriche per traspirazione da ciascuna unità colturale con cadenza giornaliera o plurigiornaliera. Le perdite per evaporazione sono state eliminate ricoprendo il substrato con un foglio di plastica. I risultati ottenuti hanno messo in evidenza un accentuato effetto brachizzante del vento. Le piante sottoposte a ventilazione addizionale hanno ridotto significativamente l'altezza di 35 cm. Anche la produzione di granella ha subito a causa della maggiore ventilazione un significativo decremento: da 162 a 147 grammi per pianta; la traspirazione per unità di superficie fogliare (TAF) è risultata significativamente più elevata con la ventilazione addizionale: 2,82 contro 2,50 mm d-1, mentre si è ridotta l'efficienza d'uso dell'acqua traspirata (TWUE): 2,38 grammi di granella secca prodotta per 1000 grammi di acqua traspirata contro 2,68 nella tesi a ridotta ventilazione

Documenting and modeling the accretion of surface and subsoil organic carbon in agricultural Inceptisols reclaimed from Mediterranean sea marshes in Sardinia

High input agriculture in productive Inceptisols that were reclaimed from sea marshes offers an opportunity to study the increase of soil organic carbon (SOC) in soils with originally low SOC. We documented the current SOC content and its distribution with depth for several soil profiles

Possible Impacts of Climate Change on Mediterranean Irrigated Farming Systems

In the agricultural sector, climate change (CC) affects multiple weather variables at different stages of crop cycles. CC may influence the mean level or affect the distribution of events (e.g., rainfall, temperature). This work evaluates the economic impact of CC-related changes in multiple climatic components, and the resulting uncertainty. For this purpose, a three-stage discrete stochastic programming model is used to represents farm sector of an irrigated area of Italy and to examine the influence of CC on rainfall and on maximum temperature. These variables affect the availability of water for agriculture and the water requirements of irrigated crops. The states of nature, and their change, are defined more broadly than in previous analyses; this allows examining the changes of more climatic variables and crops cultivation. The effect of CC is obtained by comparing the results of scenarios that represent the climatic conditions in the current situation and in the future. The results show that the agricultural sector would seek to lower costs by modifying patterns of land use, farming practices and increasing the use groundwater. The overall economic impact of these changes is small and due primarily to the reduced availability of water in the future. The temperature increase is, in fact, largely offset by the effects of the increase in CO2 levels, which boosts the yield of main crops of the irrigated zone. Therefore, availability and water management becomes a crucial factor to offset the increase of evapotranspiration and of water stress resulting from the increase of temperature. However, the costs of CC are very high for some types of farming, which suffer a large reduction in income.discrete stochastic programming model, climate change, water availability, irrigation requirements, Farm Management, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

An evaluation of the economic impact of Climate Change through a three-stages Discrete Stochastic Programming model

The climate change in the agricultural sector acting on multiple weather variables at different times of the various crop cycles. In several cases by changing the mean level of variables (rainfall, temperature, etc..), in other cases by changing the distribution of events. This work provides an evaluation of the economic impact due to changes in multiple events, and to the associated uncertainty. For this reason, a classical two-stage stochastic programming model was extend into a three-stages model. The model is specified for an area of Sardinia, and examines the impact of climate change on rainfall and hence on the availability of water for agriculture, and on maximum temperatures and, therefore, on the requirements of some irrigated crops relevant to the agricultural economy of the area. The effect of climate change is obtained by comparing the results of scenarios that represent the climatic conditions in the current situation and in the future, obtained by projecting to 2015 the climate trends of the last fifty years. The results show that the agricultural sector of the area adapt itself with a low cost by use of land and cultural practices. This cost, however, is very high for some farms that suffer a significant reduction of the income. There is also an increase of the use of natural resources, in particularly groundwater. The economic impact of these changes is due primarily to the decreased of water availability in the future. The availability of water becomes the crucial factor to adapting to climate change, because the effects of temperature can be compensate by increased the use of water resources.Discrete Stochastic Programming Model, climate change, water availability, irrigation requirements, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

LCA study of oleaginous bioenergy chains in a Mediterranean environment

This paper reports outcomes of life cycle assessments (LCAs) of three different oleaginous bioenergy chains (oilseed rape, Ethiopian mustard and cardoon) under Southern Europe conditions. Accurate data on field practices previously collected during a three-year study at two sites were used. The vegetable oil produced by oleaginous seeds was used for power generation in medium-speed diesel engines while the crop residues were used in steam power plants. For each bioenergy chain, the environmental impact related to cultivation, transportation of agricultural products and industrial conversion for power generation was evaluated by calculating cumulative energy demand, acidification potential and global warming potential. For all three bioenergy chains, the results of the LCA study show a considerable saving of primary energy (from 70 to 86 GJ·ha−1) and greenhouse gas emissions (from 4.1 to 5.2 t CO2·ha−1) in comparison to power generation from fossil fuels, although the acidification potential of these bioenergy chains may be twice that of conventional power generation. In addition, the study highlights that land use changes due to the cultivation of the abovementioned crops reduce soil organic content and therefore worsen and increase greenhouse gas emissions for all three bioenergy chains. The study also demonstrates that the exploitation of crop residues for energy production greatly contributes to managing environmental impact of the three bioenergy chains

Gestione delle infestanti del colza (<i>Brassica napus</i> var. <i>oleifera</i>) in ambiente mediterraneo: risultati preliminari

La coltura del colza è caratterizzata da un lento accrescimento nelle prime fasi di sviluppo, fasi in cui la rapida crescita delle infestanti risulta potenzialmente limitante. Una efficace competizione della coltura verso le infestanti si verifica solo dopo che la copertura vegetale ricopre completamente le interfile. Inoltre, le infestanti dotate di ramificazioni e di apparato radicale vigoroso esercitano una severa competizione per gli elementi nutritivi disponibili (Bishnoi et al., 2007). In Brassica sp.pl., Bishnoi et al. (2007) hanno riportato perdite comprese tra il 30 e il 50%, a seconda dell’accrescimento e della persistenza delle infestanti nel campo. Le difficoltà nella gestione delle infestanti del colza, oltre che derivare dalla possibile inadeguata preparazione del letto di semina e da un eventuale insufficiente grado di umidità del suolo, risiede nelle ridotte dimensioni dei semi e nel loro breve tempo di germinazione, che rendono la coltura molto sensibile alle avversità ambientali nelle sue fasi iniziali (Paudel et al., 2008). In mancanza di validi prodotti ad ampio spettro dicotiledonicida applicabili nella post-emergenza della coltura, il diserbo del colza si basa prevalentemente sull’impiego del metazachlor, che può essere applicato anche nei primi stadi di sviluppo. Rimane quasi insoluto il problema del controllo delle crucifere quali Sinapis, Rapistrum, Raphanus, e Brassica, specie tardive generalmente presenti in autunno e durante gli inverni miti. Obiettivo dello studio è stato quello di valutare l’effetto di diversi trattamenti di controllo delle infestanti, basati sull’impiego di metazachlor, sulla resa e sue componenti in colza var. Kabel

Wild asparagus domestication for food/energy cropping system setup

The solar greenhouse sector is currently unbalanced towards energy production. Thus, the introduction of new crop options, such as wild asparagus, could contribute to the promotion of economic and environmental sustainability in these food/energy systems (mixed-systems). We hypothesized that wild asparagus is able to adapt both to sunny and partially shaded environments provided that both nutrient and water supply are guaranteed. Over a three-year experiment, we carried out an intensive examination of within-season phenological, physiological and productive dynamics under a greenhouse with 50% of the roof area covered with photovoltaic panels. Under the photovoltaic roof the net assimilation rate was on average 5 time lower, averaged over the growing seasons (0.6 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1), resulting in negative results for some monitoring dates. However, lower net assimilation rate did not negatively impact spears production in terms of number, length and diameter. The year of establishment affected the length of the spear, which was 4 cm shorter in 2013 than in 2014 and 2015, when no significant difference was observed. The novelty proposed in this study could be a successful option for farmers to promote production diversification and a promising strategy to guarantee the environmental and economic sustainability of the whole mixed system

Management of High-Pressure Injection Hand Injuries: A Multicentric, Retrospective, Observational Study

Hand injuries after high-pressure injection are a medical emergency. These events occur frequently in workers during industrial cleaning, painting, and lubrication, and may have devastating consequences, leading to eventual amputation and poor functional outcomes. The authors have investigated the evolution, management, and outcome. Medical records of occupational medicine units and hand surgery units were collected in order to spot the high-pressure gear accident cases. Records were analyzed by dividing the subjects into two groups: those treated within 6 h and after 6 h of the trauma. A follow-up was carried out at least 1 year after treatment; the post-treatment outcomes were assessed. Of the 71 (100%) subjects, 26 (37%) were treated ≤6 h and 45 (63%) >6 h. A total of 28% (n = 20) underwent amputation. In 61% of cases, accidents had occurred in the iron and steel sector. High viscosity materials with a delayed treatment beyond 6 h seemed to determine compartmental syndrome and following amputation. A significantly better outcome was reported among subjects treated ≤6 h compared to those treated >6 h, 20% (n = 7) versus 26% (n = 9), respectively. Early management of this type of injury is crucial. The results of this study may contribute to providing guidelines to occupational physicians in order to best manage this type of emergency