Variability of total soil respiration in a Mediterranean vineyard

Total soil respiration (TSR) is the major component of the CO2 global flux. The knowledge of the temporal-spatial variability of TSR allows for a better interpretation of a critical component of global greenhouse gas flux measurements. The objective of the research was to evaluate the TSR dynamic over a long measurement period in a vineyard in the South of Italy. A static home-made automatic system was used to measure TSR for a three year period. A portable gas analyser (Li-Cor 6400-09) was used to study TSR spatial variability. A non-invasive geophysical technique (Electromagnetic Induction – EMI) was applied to search for a significant relationship between apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa), the EMI signal and TSR. Long-term measurements of TSR enabled to study its temporal dynamics. CO2 rates ranged from 0.78 to 43.7 g CO2 m–2 day–1. TSR increased during spring and decreased by 45–50% during the mid-summer. The daily trend of TSR showed differences between the seasons studied reporting a clearly variation among TSR measured on row and inter-row positions. The supplemental irrigation significantly affected (P < 0.001) CO2 soil effluxes which showed a weekly mean increase of 300%. Significant inverse relationships were found by interpolating TSR values and ECa (coefficient of correlation ranging from –0.43 to –0.83 at P < 0.001). The spatialisation of TSR at field scale was performed using the linear regression between TSR values and EMI signals. TSR spatialisation gave a more detailed view of CO2 emissions distribution within the vineyard. EMI technique could be a useful tool to compute accurately the global CO2 emissions which are a complex and hard to measure component of the agrosystem carbon balance

VIABILITA' DI PENETRAZIONE AL PORTO DI PIOMBINO - PROLUNGAMENTO DELLA S.S.398 NEL TRATTO COMPRESO TRA LOCALITA' MONTEGEMOLI E LOCALITA' GAGNO

L’annosa questione del prolungamento della S.s.398 fino al porto di Piombino è presente in numerosi strumenti di pianificazione territoriale ed urbanistica a livello comunale, provinciale e regionale. Con il prolungamento dell’esistente S.s.398 dalla località Montegemoli al porto, da un lato si risolvono alcune criticità presenti sull’attuale unica via di accesso e dall’altro si gettano le basi per un razionale sviluppo del porto stesso. Tra i maggiori disagi avvertiti dagli abitanti, dai pendolari e dai turisti possiamo menzionare: • rallentamenti, code e blocchi di traffico; • incidentalità elevata; • alto inquinamento acustico e ambientale; • mancanza di diversificazione delle vie di accesso al porto. Le cause sono da imputare alle inadeguate caratteristiche geometriche e funzionali dell’attuale strada, agli elevati flussi di veicoli leggeri e pesanti (diretti alla città, al porto, agli stabilimenti industriali) e all’assenza di percorsi alternativi con commistione di traffico urbano, portuale ed industriale. Negli ultimi anni il Comune di Piombino è intervenuto sul tratto finale Gagno – centro città, realizzando due importanti rotatorie allo scopo di migliorarne le caratteristiche geometriche e funzionali. Questo lavoro di tesi, invece, “interviene” sul tratto iniziale Montegemoli – Gagno creando ad esso una viabilità alternativa individuata in una strada di categoria “D” (Urbana di scorrimento) la quale si collega alla viabilità locale esistente e alle future zone di espansione portuale mediante tratti di categoria “E” (Urbana di quartiere). Con il presente progetto si è elaborata una proposta che creerà una viabilità alternativa molto più scorrevole e sicura per l’utenza diretta al centro città e al porto passeggeri, ridurrà l’inquinamento da idrocarburi e da rumori, garantirà i collegamenti infrastrutturali con le aree industriali dismesse da recuperare, con il porto turistico delle “Terre Rosse”, con il futuro distretto della nautica e soprattutto con la zona industriale/siderurgica del porto

Studying soil quality is essential to evaluate the sustainability of a vineyard

International audienc

Basilicata: comportamento di alcuni vitigni introdotti

Per introdurre nuovi vitigni nella regione e fornire agli imprenditori vitivinicoli nuove opportunita' di mercato sono state verificate le performance di 9 vitigni importanti in altri territori. Tutte le varieta' in osservazione sono risultate idonee alla coltivazione in Basilicata

Electromagnetic induction: a support tool for the evaluation of soil CO2 emissions and soil organic carbon content in olive orchards under semi-arid conditions

Electromagnetic Induction (EMI), a non-invasive geophysical technique, can be a useful tool to study soil distribution of physical–chemical characters that strongly influence total soil respiration. Soil respiration emission flux (FCO2) was followed in an orchard (0.7 ha) with olive trees placed at irregular distances. FCO2 was measured in four different days at 6:00 and 15:00 h. Correlations between soil respiration and soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa), measured by the EMI technique, were assessed. Statistically significant linear relationships were found between ECa, measured at 7 kHz, and FCO2 (R2 N 0.6). The strong relations found between daily FCO2 and ECa values allowed to spatialize soil respiration rate at field scale. The EMI technique combined with the statistical software called ESAP (Electrical conductivity Sampling, Assessment, and Prediction) seemed to be a very efficient tool to choose representative soil sites within the field onwhere to measure FCO2. The EMI/ESAP procedure was also compared with two soil sampling procedures, Joint Research Centre European Method (JRC-EU) and regular grid sampling, in order to estimate average soil organic carbon (SOC) value within the olive orchard. Results suggested that the above mentioned approach could be an interesting solution to reduce number of samplings and their cost reaching, in the meantime, reliable assessments of FCO2 and SOC at field scal

Varietà di vite ritrovate in Basilicata

A total of 61 grapevine accessions were recovered in old vineyards of Basilicata and characterized by ampelographic, phenological and ampelometry descriptors, and genotyped with 9 microsatellite loci. The molecular profile analyzed has showed 27 sampled different genotypes. Some of these genotypes were listed in the National Register of Vine Variety, others were foreign varieties and 11 were unknown molecular profiles. Through this study some of grapevine varieties of Basilicata can still represent a pool of viticultural biodiversity and empirical growers knowledge. The data from all varieties have been entered into the Italian Vitis Database (http://www.vitisdb.it)