Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
11.91542° E for IT-Ro3 and 42.37333° N; 11.91922° E for IT-Ro4). The two
cropland fields are of about 15 ha each allowing a minimum distance of 110 m
from the fields' edges, with surrounding fields being similarly covered by non-
irrigated cropland. The soil is an Eutric Cambisol with a clay loam texture (40 %
clay, 30 % silt, 30 % sand) and, on average, 10.8 g kg
−
1
of organic carbon and
1.3 g kg
−
1
of total nitrogen in the cultivated layer (0-30 cm).
The fields have been under dry arable cultivation for the last two decades, under
a rotation including primarily durum wheat (
Triticum durum
Desf.) and annual for-
age crops, mainly crimson clover (
Trifolium incarnatum
, L.) as a pure stand or as a
mixture with oats (
Avena sativa
L.) and common vetch (
Vicia sativa
L.). In the 2007-
2008 and 2008-2009 growth seasons, the two sites were employed for a paired com-
parison of different agronomic management for biofuel crop productions, namely a
winter crop, i.e. rapeseed (
Brassica napa
L.), in 2008 and a spring crop, i.e. sunflower
(
Heliantus annuus
, L.), in 2009. One of the fields (IT-Ro3) was managed convention-
ally using mouldboard ploughing and disk harrowing, while the other (IT-Ro4) was
managed as a no-tillage system. After 2009, the farm was converted into an organic
agriculture regime and the no-tillage field, typically requiring chemical weeding, was
then reverted to conventional tillage. Both fields were occupied by organically grown
crimson clover (
T. incarnatum
) for seed production in the 2009-2010 growth season.
In 2010-2011, the IT-Ro3 field was employed for (organic) durum wheat production,
whereas the IT-Ro4 field was occupied by crimson clover employed as an annual for-
age crop, i.e. occasionally grazed by cattle. In the 2011-2012 growth season one of
the fields (IT-Ro4) was managed as crimson clover for seed and straw production
while the other (IT-Ro3) was occupied by a mixture of vetch and oats employed as a
forage crop with occasional cattle grazing and final hay harvest in June.
2.2.21 Renon (IT-Ren)
The Renon-Selva Verde site (46.58686° N; 11.43369° E, elevation about
1,735 m.a.s.l.) is located in the municipality of Renon, at a distance of 12.2 km
North-Northeast from the town of Bolzano. Eddy Covariance measurements
started in the year 1997. The site is placed on a porphyric plateau; the soil is clas-
sified as Haplic Podsol following FAO (
2008
).
The site vegetation, a subalpine coniferous forest, is of natural origin and is used
for wood production. As a result of the traditional harvesting method, which consists
of irregular cuttings of 50-80 cubic meters, overall the forest is unevenly aged, but
with homogenous groups. The largest group present in the area has been approxi-
mately growing since the year 1820, after the Napoleonic wars. The main forest spe-
cies is spruce (
Picea abies
(L.) Karst., 85 % in number) followed by cembran pine
(
Pinus cembra
L., 12 %) and larch (
Larix decidua
Mill., 3 %). In the clearings, cov-
ering approximately 15 % of the area, the dominant grass species is
Deschampsia
flexuosa
L. The canopy is irregular, with a maximal height of 29 m. The average
LAI, measured by hemispherical photographs, is 5.1 (Montagnani et al.
2009
).
