Search results for "soil"

Estimating carbon credits variations supplied from agricultural and forest soils of Italy between 1979 and 2008.

2011

Soils contain approximately three times the world amount of organic carbon in vegetation and approximately the double of that present in the atmosphere. However, soil organic carbon (SOC) has been found lowering in many areas, while atmospheric CO2 was on increase. It is well known that there is a marked inter-dependence between SOC and climate, nevertheless, recent researches have demonstrated that changes of land use and management can cause gains or losses of SOC greater than climatic changes. Italy, which has joined the Kyoto Protocol, has decided to consider only forest management within the additional activities contemplated for the count of carbon credits, and to launch a monitoring …

Ash-tree manna (Fraxinus spp).

2009

The man from the glacier: Similaun Man

2015

Ötzi was a man who lived around 3,300 BCE in the Alps, who roamed mountains to hunt dears and ibexes, forestlands to hunt birds and collect fruits, roots, medicinal plants, and grew einkorn and barley in the valleys. He was also a shepherd and a skilled copper miner. The harshness of the environment in which he lived, similar to the current one in terms of climate and vegetation did not prevent the development of rather sophisticated forms of civilization, allowing him to modify the morphology of the terrain through terracing and favour crop cultivation.

Modeling soil organic carbon stock after 10 years of cover crops in Mediterranean vineyards: improving ANN prediction by digital terrain analysis.

2018

Estimate changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stock after Agro Environment Measures adoption are strategically for national and regional scale. Uncertainty in estimates also represents a very important parameter in terms of evaluation of the exact costs and agro environment payments to farmers. In this study we modeled the variation of SOC stock after 10-year cover crop adoption in a vine growing area of South-Eastern Sicily. A paired-site approach was chosen to study the difference in SOC stocks. A total 100 paired sites (i.e. two adjacent plots) were chosen and three soil samples (Ap soil horizons, circa 0-30 cm depth) were collected in each plot to obtain a mean value of organic carbon c…

Fine-scale spatial variability of soil organic carbon and related environmental variables in a protected area of Sicily, Italy

2008

The institution of Natural Reserves has promoted, in Italy, the conservation and the environmental improvement of several areas and their physical and biological factors. Agriculture, forestry and every human activity are regulated to preserve their high ecological and naturalistic value. Land use, in particular, must follow careful rules to preserve the soil fertility and to limit the factors of landscape degradation. Maps of soil organic carbon (SOC) or soil organic matter (SOM) are of interest for agricultural management, resulting a very important soil fertility parameter, as well as in environmental policy related to the terrestrial sequestration of atmospheric carbon. Thus, a better u…

Tecniche e Modelli di Cartografia Digitale Predittiva dei Suoli Basati sull'Approccio SCORPAN per il Downscaling della Nuova Carta dei Suoli della Si…

2013

Towards the European harmonisation of a Soil Cadastre inventory as a tool for environmental, social, economic, legal and taxation purposes

2020

The cadastral systems existing in EU Member States satisfy private and public needs but there is no common regulation describing the purposes, minimum requirements and functions of the Cadastre in each State. In order to satisfy the need for harmonisation of Cadastres at the EU level, the Spanish Government's Official Performance Programme of the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council supported, in the first semester of 2002, the initiative proposed by the Spanish General Directorate for the Cadastre to hold the "First Congress on Cadastre in the European Union" (15-17 May 2002). The main objective of this conference was to study the role of the Cadastre at EU level and the methods for the in…

Education in Soil Science: the Italian approach

2017

The Italian Society of Soil Science (SISS) was founded in Florence on February 18th, 1952. It is an association legally acknowledged by Decree of the President of the Italian Republic in February 1957. The Society is member of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) of the European Confederation of Soil Science Societies (ECSSS) and collaborates with several companies, institutions and organizations having similar objectives or policy aspects. SISS promotes progress, coordination and dissemination of soil science and its applications encouraging relationships and collaborations among soil lovers. Within the SISS there are Working Groups and Technical Committees for specific issues o…

Source of calcium for pedogenic CaCO3 formation in benchmark soils of a Mediterranean semiarid environment

2004

Calcic and petrocalcic horizons (Bk and Bkm, respectively) commonly occur in soils of arid and semiarid regions. Studies carried out to investigate the source of calcium in CaCO3 formation have shown that dust and parent materials represent the main sources. The aim of this study was to investigate if gypsum may be a source of calcium for calcium carbonate formation and, eventually, to quantify it. Five soil pedons, developing on “Serie Gessoso- Solfifera”, were selected in a very representative forest Mediterranean ecosystem in Sicily (I). Pedons were opened, described in field and sampled according to the sequence of genetic horizons. Soil samples were analyzed to investigate 87/86Sr rati…

Recycling Phosphorus from Agricultural Streams: Grey and Green Solutions

2022

Many intensively farmed soils show high phosphorus (P) contents compared to the thresholds required for agricultural production; 0.084 Mt of P year−1 is leaving the European terrestrial system. This paper focuses mainly on non-point flows of P and provides an overview of the most promising and sustainable solutions for P recycling, centred on waste materials from agriculture. Given the global shortage of the primary resource of P, its management is critical for its efficient use. Nowadays, wastage and loss at every stage of the P cycle raise concerns about future supplies and especially about the resulting environmental problems, such as the eutrophication of surface water bodies and the re…