Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
essentially Mediterranean with a small increase in precipitation during autumn and
spring, essentially driven by local meteorological circulation and updraft. The aver-
age annual precipitation is 650 mm while the average annual temperature is 15 °C.
The site has been set up as part of a large scale manipulation experiment called
LASMEX in the framework of EU-funded MIND project which aimed at studying
the effect of increased or decreased precipitation intensities on Mediterranean eco-
systems through rain exclusion or irrigation. This specific site is the reference site
with unmodified precipitation regime. The vegetation is a coppice rotation primar-
ily composed by
Arbutus unedo
L. (65 %) and
Erica arborea
L. (13 %) and sec-
ondarily by
Fraxinus ornus
L. and
Quercus ilex
L. The entire canopy grew up after
fire events occurred on site in 1984. The soil is of volcanic origin and classified as
Andosols, with an average depth of around 30 cm and acid (pH
=
4).
2.2.24 Torgnon (IT-Tor)
The site, active since June 2008, is an old grazed pasture abandoned in late
1990s in the northwestern Italian Alps. It is located a few kilometers away from
the village of Torgnon in the Aosta Valley region at an elevation of 2,160 m.a.s.l.
(45.84444° N; 7.57806° E).
The dominant vegetation is composed by
Nardus stricta
L., 35 %,
Festuca
nigrescens
All. 11 %,
Arnica montana
L. 8 %,
Carex sempervirens
Vill. 5 %,
Geum montanum
L. 5 %,
Anthoxanthum alpinum
L.L. 4 %,
Potentilla aurea
L.
4 %,
Trifolium alpinum
L. 4 %. Considering canopy properties, maximum sea-
sonal LAI is about 2.9 and average canopy height is 18 cm. The terrain slopes
gently (4 °) and the soil is classified as Cambisol (WRB classification), with the
following characteristics in the 0-20 cm horizon: organic C
=
2.8 kg C m
−
2
and
total N
=
0.22 kg N m
−
2
.
The site is characterized by an intra-alpine semi-continental climate, with
strong seasonality, the average annual temperature is of 3.1 °C and the average
annual precipitation is of about 880 mm. On average, from the end of October to
late May, the site is covered by a thick snow mantle (90-120 cm) which limits the
growing season length to four-five months. Growing season cumulative precipita-
tion can show huge variations (from 160 to 630 mm) and the average daily air
temperature varies between 4 and 13 °C.
2.2.25 Valle dell'Adige (IT-VdA)
The Valle dell'Adige site is located in a vineyard in the Valle dell'Adige
(46.19678° N; 11.11354° E; Mezzolombardo) at an altitude of 206 m.a.s.l. The
average annual air temperature is 11.8 °C while the average annual precipitation
is 822 mm. The soil was classified as a Gleyic/Haplic Fluvisol (FAO
2008
) with
the following characteristics in the 0-30 cm horizon: sand 42 %, silt 47 %, clay
