Kāds bija risinājums/problēma?

This Operational Groups derived from an idea of Open Fields, who seized the opportunity of applying the TreeTalker technology created by the Nobel Prize Riccardo Valentini (University of Tuscia and spinoff Nature 4.0) how bringing chestunt trees back to fruit cultivation could be optimised both on the productive and environmental (carbon balance) fronts. Other interested actors – namely the Carisbo Foundation, who is owner of the Granaglione Chestnut Grove (in the municipality of Alto Reno Terme), the National Academy of Agriculture (which is entrusted with the management of the Chestnut Grove) the University of Bologna, which has both forestry and soil knowledge, the Euro Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change, the Val Reno forestry cooperative, and the Municipality of Alto Reno Terme – became inspired by the idea and joined the project, the first two as supporters and the others as partners.

The TreeTalker is a set of low-power miniaturized sensors that are applied to the trees to continuously monitor, through the collection of many data and parameters, their health status (lymph flow rate, trunk moisture, trunk growth, leaf development, trunk oscillation, utt.) in relation to environmental variables such as temperature and humidity. The data, which are transmitted every hour by the chestnut trees and integrated with climate data and processed, also allow monitoring changes in C stocks and CO2 emissions in response to the recovery actions of the trees to a cultivated state. A multi-criteria Land Suitability analysis is carried out with the Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) methodology using the QGIS and GRASS open source software. The following factors derived and elaborated from Sentinel-2 satellite images of the Copernicus space mission with a resolution of 10 m are taken into consideration: slope, exposure, altitude, distance from the roads, land cover indices and chlorophyll content in the leaves.

Within the Granaglione Chestnut Grove, 4 areas of 500 square meters each, in different ecological and pedological conditions, have been characterized with dendrometric and pedological surveys. It īpaši, the description of the station and the top have been provided through the ProgettoBosco methodology, the total stand and the measurement of a representative sample of heights. The leaf area index and the degree of closure of the canopy have been quantified with hemispherical photography techniques. Following the interventions, only the selected chestnut plants have been mapped with total station to quantify their density and competition.

In a representative zone of each area, a soil profile has been opened up to C horizon to describe and sample the morphological characters. The samples of each horizon have been characterized by the main chemical-physical properties. The organic carbon content and bulk density data allow to determine the organic carbon stock at a certain depth (30-50 cm, expressed as Mg C ha-1). Papildus, nutrient stocks are determined. The labile O.S. pools have been analyzed, such as the content of C and N of the microbial biomassMoreover, the potential microbial respiration (mg CO2 / kg of soil) will be determined to be able to calculate some indicators and indices of ecological functionality of the soil, such as the metabolic quotient, mineralization quotient and microbial quotient. The Biological Fertility Index of the soils of the 4 areas has also been calculated.

In each area, devices (collars) have been placed on the ground for measuring soil respiration. The emissions are quantified through EGM-4 portable infrared analyzers (PP Systems, Amesbury, MA), in parallel with the recording of soil moisture and temperature, according to a monitoring plan.

Monitoring of changes in C stocks and soil CO2 emissions is scheduled in response to the recovery actions of the trees to a cultivated state. The variations will be measured in spring and one year after to define the response of the soil in the short and medium term, respectively, corresponding to the vegetative restart of the plants. In these two moments of time, a “minipit” will be opened for each area and each mode of intervention up to a depth of 30 cm.

The project also has also a social implication related to citizen science: thanks to the website and a free app, skolotāji, studentiem, citizens can “adopt” a chestnut by selecting it from the map, and follow its state of health day by day. Each chestnut has its name, so visiting the Granaglione chestnut grove it will be possible to “meet” it “in person”. The aim is to raise public awareness of the environment and climate change. The schools will be one of the main target group for dissemination. Training for chestnut growers will make new technologies useful for local crops.

Kādi ir veiksmes faktori problēmas risināšanā?

Teamwork, proactivity, passionate people willing to implement the project.

What were the main challenges during the innovation process?

Covid19; limit in the delivery of the RDP measure that allows only foresters to be trainedany (Lineārās inovācijas tiek aizstātas ar interaktīvām, kas nozīmē, ka galvenais aspekts inovāciju izstrādes procesā ir sadarbība starp dažādiem dažādu jomu dalībniekiem., who are interested in the innovation, cannot be involved in this phase)

Kāda loma ir konsultantam vai konsultatīvajam dienestam ar praktisko lietu?

Knowledge awareness and exchange, Advisory, consultancy and backstopping aimed at solving complex problems, to be provided during the innovation process and based on demands of actors and the co-construction of solutions, Networking facilitation and brokerage, to help organize or strengthen networks, improve the relationships between key actors and to align services in order to be able to complement each other, Enhancing/supporting access to resources by facilitating access to inputs, facilities and funding, Facilitating access to new networks and actors, Scaling up the innovation to increase the uptake by a broader group

For sharing experience of the practical case, lūdzu sazinieties

Ilaria Mazzoli

i.mazzoli@openfields.it; +39 (0) 521 80 32 22