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Rome, Italy 2010
Italian forestry and forest research at the Italian Agricultural Research Council (CRA)
Giuseppe Scarascia‐Mugnozza
CRA – Agronomy, Forestry &Land Use
Department
4th International Workshop on Digital Soil Mapping Rome, 24-26 May 2010
Who we areThe Agricultural Research Council (CRA) is a National Research
Organization which operates under the supervision of the
Ministry of Agriculture, with general scientific competence
within the fields of agriculture, agroindustry, food, fishery and
forestry. The distribution of the CRA offices (49 structures as Research
Centres and Units) throughout national territory allows it to
widely extend its expertise and proficiency, and to closely
operate in conjunction with central administrations, local and
regional institutions, companies and various trade, industrial
and legal associations.
Departments Organization1.Plant
Biology and Production2.Anima
l Biology and Production3.Tra
nsformation of Agro‐Industrial Products4.Agronomy,
Forestry and Land Use
National Council for Agricoltural Research Network
4th International Workshop on Digital Soil Mapping Rome, 24-26 May 2010
Agronomy, Forestry and Land Use Dept. (DAF)
The
Department
deals
with
the
sustainable
management
and
adaptation
to
global
change
of
agro‐forestry ecosystems, particularly those of the Mediterranean environmentResearch Topics:
Forest monitoring, planning and managment with Geomatics, modelling
and statistical
techniques; National Forest Inventory (CRA‐MPF)
Soil conservation/degradation, genesis and classification, agroecosystems and forest
ecosystems protection (CRA‐ABP)
Sustainable managment of Forest environment, best application of silvicultural techniques,
genetic variability of forest trees; drought, fire and desertification impacts on forest
ecosistems in mediterranean environment(CRA‐SEL; CRA‐SAM‐SFA)
Soil‐plant relationships and modelling, soil fertility and plant phisiology, soil microbiology
and organic farming, soil and agro‐ecosystem global quality and health (CRA‐RPS)
Mechanization and energy use in agricultural production (CRA‐ING)Climate changes and agricultural production, agro‐climatology, climate modelling (CRA‐CMA)Agricoltural systems modelling, irrigation and high redditivity
crops in hot arid environment
(CRA‐SCA‐SSC‐CAR)
4th International Workshop on Digital Soil Mapping Rome, 24-26 May 2010
Soil information inside the DAF Research activity
soil maps and quality associated dataset is a
basic primary information for applied research
through:
Predictive behaviour
models (soil‐plant system)Development of indicatorsGeographic scenario’s
4th International Workshop on Digital Soil Mapping Rome, 24-26 May 2010
Soil Spatial information and quality
Agro‐forestry Research activity needs to have:1.Maximum quality in collecting and analysing
soil data (good and upgraded
standard methodologies and many replicates for single measure)2.Monitoring soil features and qualities in time
3.Reliable methods to extend the soil information derived from 1 and 2 activities4.CRA research centers/units combine their own data‐bases on soils with the
Regional networks
4th International Workshop on Digital Soil Mapping Rome, 24-26 May 2010
DAF Research activity supporting National Agro-forestry Policies
CRA‐DAF SUPPORTING “BASIC”
ACTIVITY INSIDE MIPAAF RURAL NETWORK
NATIONAL SOIL DATABASEHYDROLOGICAL, FERTILITY AND BIOLOGICAL SOIL DATABASE
SOIL NATIONAL FORESTAL INVENTORYSOIL BIODIVERSITY NATIONAL CHARACTERIZATION
APPLICATION REQUESTED TO CRA:NEW METHODOLOGY FOR AGRICULTURAL NITRATE VULNERABILITY
SOIL ORGANIC CARBON STOCKCROP WATER REQUIREMENTS IN IRRIGATED AREAS THROUGH PREDICTIVE
MODELSDESERTIFICATION NATIONAL ATLASCAP CROSS COMPLIANCE CHECK
4th International Workshop on Digital Soil Mapping Rome, 24-26 May 2010
National soil databases
Italian Inventory of Forests and Carbon-INFC
Step 2 30,000 points
Step 1 10 Mil points
Step 3: 7,000 points (step 3+ 1,700 points on soil C)
• Landscape modification with the introduction/diffusion of new species since Roman time (Pinus pinea, Cupressus sempervirens, Castanea sativa)
• In Siena (Montagnola senese) there are oak coppice forests that are still managed since XIII century (sustainable management!), as reconstructed from middle-age management plans
Italian forestry rich of history/1
Some facts about Italian forestry
Italian forests are rich of biodiversity• large latitudinal and environmental gradient (from 35°N, in
Sicily, to 47°N, in SudTyrol)• more than 25,000 plant species in the Mediterranean (6,000
species in NC Europe)• 100 forest tree species in the Mediterranean (30 tree species in
NC Europe)• Italy has represented a glacial refugium for many important
European species (Fagus, Quercus, Picea, Abies)• coevolution of plant and animal species with human activities
Italian forestry rich of history/2
• The expansion of the Republic of Venice was based on alpine forests, for houses construction, war ships and soil conservation
• Venice had already in 1450 a detailed forest inventory of its State forests
• The Arsenal of Venice needed 60,000 m3 of wood per year (oaks for ships, spruce as masts and beech as rows)
Forest conservation through natural assisted regeneration was crucial for soil and water regulation and the protection of the Venetian Lagoon
Italian forestry rich of history/3
Forestry book printed in Venice in 1620
Italy is also rich of “poor” forests….but things are changing
• 10 Mha of forests• About 50% are coppice stands• Conversion from coppice to high stand covers
about 500,000 ha mainly beech and oaks• Forests are expanding in Italy because of
abandoning farmland (+1% annually)• Volume stock has increased by 50% in the last 50
years • Conservative forestry (only 30% of forest annual
increment is being harvested) and close-to-nature silviculture
Importance of environmental services provided by forest ecosystems: 2 Billion € value of C-
sequestration by forests in Italy(but also agriculture and soil protection crucial in
Kyoto2)
Time-series analysis of temperature and rainfall from more than 120 met stations in Italy, since 1800 to present
Brunetti, Maugeri, Monti & Nanni, IJC 2006.
Tmedia Tmax Tmin
Annual
Summer
Temperature increase of 1°C every 100 years for whole Italy and a decrease
(5% per century) for rainfall (in spring - 9% per 100 yrs)
FACTS1, DukeEUROFACE, Viterbo
OakridgeAspenFACE
Will forests keep their C-sink role also in the future environment?
Long term experiments & large scale infrastructures are needed
Norby, Scarascia-Mugnozza et al, 2005 PNAS
NPP in future climatic conditions (yr 2050)(simulated by elevated CO2 in FACE)
From experiments conducted in USA and EU under high CO2 (550 ppm, as expected in 2050)
in the open environment on
forest plantations(FACE
infrastructures)Is also NEP
increased by the same extent?
+ 23%
Apparently, no down-regulation of ecosystems caused by increasing CO2 but there is a significant increase of the conversion efficiency of light into biomass. This information is most valuable for model parameterization and validation
Set-up for flux measurements
Tower/mast Fast response instruments
Tower
Homogenous forest (or other land cover)
Atmospheric Concentration with Coal Phaseout by 2030
Red line is for EIA oil & gas reserve estimates, rather than IPCC estimates
(From J. Hansen)
(IIASA 2008)Land is becoming a precious and rare asset;it should be managed wisely!
Grazie!giuseppe.scarascia@entecra.it