B026439 - Agro-ecosystem monitoring and management

Italian

Components of the environment. Mechanisms determining weather and climate. Meteorological parameters and instruments. Acquisition of meteorological data. Responses of plants to environmental parameters.
Environmental monitoring at EU and regional level. DPSIR model. Soil, biodiversity and water monitoring. Basic concepts of sustainability science. Concepts of agroecosystems analysis and design. Agroecosystem management options.

Lesson slides
G. Maracchi, 2003. Meteorologia e climatologia applicata, Editrice Universo, pp. 230
Cesare Pacini et al. 2017. Sustainability of Agricultural Management Options Under a Systems Perspective. Encyclopedia of Sustainable Technologies. Elsevier, pp. 191–200.
El-Hage Scialabba, N., Pacini, C., and Moller, S., 2014. Smallholder ecologies. FAO, Rome, Italy, 50 p. http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/nr/sustainability_pathways/docs/Smallholder_Ecologies_web_final.pdf

Knowledge acquired: Traditional and innovative instruments and methodologies in order to define and to monitor the environment of rural lands
Competence acquired (at the end of the course): elements characterizing rural lands and their variability in the time and in the space; monitoring techniques; techniques of elaboration and interpretation of land information
Skills acquired (at the end of the course): analysis of the environmental elements characterizing rural lands, their assessment and measurement in the time and the space; application of innovated tools and sensors, by means of most recent developments of the computer science and the telematics; acquisition of the data and their interpretation
Knowledge acquired: concepts and models of agroecosystems management and design under a systems perspective.
Competence acquired (at the end of the course): Sustainability impact assessment techniques of agroecosystems management options on structural and functional properties.
Skills acquired (at the end of the course): Analysis of the most spread agroecosystems management options in the world, i.e. organic, conservation, conventional, integrated agriculture, etc.

Courses to be used as requirements (required and/or recommended): no

CFU 9
Total hours of the course: 225 (= 9 x 25)
Hours reserved to private study and other individual formative activities: 153
Contact hours for: Lectures (hours): 48
Contact hours for: Laboratory (hours): 0
Contact hours for: Practices (hours): 18
Seminars (hours): 6
Stages: 0
Intermediate examinations: 0

Frequency of lectures and practices: recommended

test on the subjects of lectures + oral examination

LECTURES.
Definition of environment. Components of the environment (biotic and abiotic elements). Exchanges between components of the environment. Climatic characterization of the environment.
Mechanisms of weather and climate. Definitions of weather and climate. Formation of a global climate (energy balance, atmospheric circulation, etc.). Concept of scale in climatology. Fields of meteorology and climatology.
Meteorological parameters and instruments. Solar radiation: a transfer of energy, characteristics and quantity of energy emitted from the bodies, radiation balance, energy balance, units of measurement and instrumentation for measuring the radiative energy. Air and soil temperature: definition of heat and temperature, air and soil temperature trends over time and space, units and instruments of measurement. Air and soil humidity: measurements to express air and soil humidity. Precipitation: classification, characterization and measurement of rainfalls. Wind: definition of its origin and measure of its speed. Evapo-transpiration: definition of transpiration, evaporation and evapo-transpiration potential, its measure and calculation.
Relations between environmental parameters and plants. Description of: plant phenological development, thermo-periodism, vernalization, photosynthesis, photo-periodism, damage caused by extreme weather events (temperature, rain, etc.).
EU state of environment report. 7th European action program for the environment. Synthesis of SOER results on natural capital, efficiency and health. Tuscany state of environment report. Environmental monitoring registrations. DPSIR model. Elements of monitoring of drivers, energy, emissions and air. Soil, water, protected area and biodiversity monitoring.
Definition of sustainability. Dimensions of sustainability. Definition of ecosystems functions, goods and services. Definition of ecological footprint. Dimensions of agroecosystem evaluation. Structural properties of agroecosystems (diversity, coherence, connectedness). Functional properties of agroecosystems (capacity, efficiency, stability, resilience). Conventional agriculture. Definition of sustainable intensification. Definition of ecological intensification. Agro-ecological approaches. High external input cropping systems, High external input livestock systems, GMO-based systems, Conservation agriculture, Integrated pest management, Precision farming, Sustainable rice intensification, Urban and peri-urban agriculture, Mixed rice-fish systems, Mixed crop-livestock systems, Organic and biodynamic agriculture, Grasslands and forage crops, Traditional polycultures, Agroforestry and forestry systems.
TRAINING COURSES and SEMINARS:
Guided visits to farms and laboratories. 3 technical seminars conducted by experts (professionists, researchers, public and private servants, etc.).