Sofia Bajocco - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Sofia Bajocco
Precision Agriculture, Oct 25, 2022
Grapevine simulation models are mostly used to estimate plant development, growth and yield at pl... more Grapevine simulation models are mostly used to estimate plant development, growth and yield at plot scale. However, the spatial variability of pedologic and micro-climatic conditions can influence vine growth, leading to a sub-field heterogeneity in plant vigor and final yield that may be better estimated through the assimilation of high spatial resolution data in crop models. In this study, the spatial variability of grapevine intercepted radiation at fruit-set was used as input for a grapevine simulation model to estimate the variability in biomass accumulation and yield in two Tuscan vineyards (Sites A and B). In Site A, the model, forced with intercepted radiation data as derived from the leaf area index (LAI), measured at canopy level in three main vigor areas of the vineyard, provided a satisfactory simulation of the final pruning weight (r 2 = 0.61; RMSE = 19.86 dry matter g m −2). In Site B, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from Sentinel-2A images was firstly re-scaled to account for canopy fraction cover over the study areas and then used as a proxy for grapevine intercepted radiation for each single pixel. These data were used to drive the grapevine simulation model accounting for spatial variability of plant vigor to reproduce yield variability at pixel scale (r 2 = 0.47; RMSE = 75.52 dry matter g m −2). This study represents the first step towards the realization of a decision tool supporting winegrowers in the selection of the most appropriate agronomic practices for reducing the vine vigor and yield variability at sub-field level.
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Apr 1, 2016
, (2) Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria-Council for Agric... more , (2) Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria-Council for Agricultural Research and Economics,
Annals of Silvicultural Research, 2020
Accurate estimates of canopy cover (CC) are central for a wide range of forestry studies. As dire... more Accurate estimates of canopy cover (CC) are central for a wide range of forestry studies. As direct measurements are impractical, indirect optical methods have often been used to estimate CC from the complement of gap fraction measurements obtained with restricted-view sensors. In this short note we evaluated the influence of the image pixel resolution (ground sampling distance; GSD) on CC estimation in poplar plantations obtained from field (cover photography; GSD < 1 cm), unmanned aerial (UAV; GSD <10 cm) and satellite (Sentinel-2; GSD = 10 m) imagery. The trial was conducted in poplar tree plantations in Northern Italy, with varying age and canopy cover. Results indicated that the coarser resolution available from satellite data is suitable to obtain estimates of canopy cover, as compared with field measurements obtained from cover photography; therefore, S2 isrecommended for larger scale monitoring and routine assessment of canopy cover in poplar plantations. The higher re...
Proceedings of SPIE, Jul 2, 2013
The analysis of land cover dynamics provides insight into many environmental problems. However, t... more The analysis of land cover dynamics provides insight into many environmental problems. However, there are few data sources which can be used to derive consistent time series, remote sensing being one of the most valuable ones. Due to their multi-temporal and spatial coverage needs, such analysis is usually based on large land cover datasets, which requires automated, objective and repeatable procedures. The USGS Landsat archives provide free access to multispectral, high-resolution remotely sensed data starting from the mid-eighties; in many cases, however, only single date images are available. This paper suggests an objective approach for generating land cover information from 30m resolution and single date Landsat archive satellite imagery. A procedure was developed integrating pixel-based and object-oriented classifiers, which consists of the following basic steps: i) pre-processing of the satellite image, including radiance and reflectance calibration, texture analysis and derivation of vegetation indices, ii) segmentation of the pre-processed image, iii) its classification integrating both radiometric and textural properties. The integrated procedure was tested for an area in Sardinia Region, Italy, and compared with a purely pixel-based one. Results demonstrated that a better overall accuracy, evaluated against the available land cover cartography, was obtained with the integrated (86%) compared to the pixel-based classification (68%) at the first CORINE Land Cover level. The proposed methodology needs to be further tested for evaluating its trasferability in time (constructing comparable land cover time series) and space (for covering larger areas).
Scottish geographical journal, Jun 1, 2013
Quantifying the environmental vulnerability and the resilience of rapidly changing Mediterranean ... more Quantifying the environmental vulnerability and the resilience of rapidly changing Mediterranean landscapes under climate change is a crucial undertaking for the sustainable management of regions experiencing intense human pressure. This paper diachronically (1975-2006) analyses the impact of land-use changes (LUCs) on land vulnerability to desertification at two coastal sites in southern Italy with different environmental and socioeconomic conditions to identify landscape responses to territorial reconfiguration. We found that both initial land vulnerability and its increase over time are higher in areas experiencing LUCs than in areas with stable patterns of land-use. Stable, low levels of land vulnerability to desertification were associated with forests and semi-natural areas, while urbanisation and agricultural intensification led to marked increases in land vulnerability. The procedure outlined in this paper is suitable for identifying land-use trajectories associated with the desertification processes and may inform policies aimed at preventing soil and land degradation.
Monitoring and mapping agricultural areas is a major concern in the framework of global change an... more Monitoring and mapping agricultural areas is a major concern in the framework of global change and the use of remote sensing data to classify agricultural areas is quite common. The objective of this work is to classify the Capitanata plain, a typical Mediterranean agricultural area in Apulia (Italy), from a crop seasonality viewpoint and to explore the phenological heterogeneity of the study area. To this aim, we exploited the temporal and spatial resolution of Sentinel-2 remote sensing data. Results demonstrated that the pheno-classes identified clearly distinguish permanent from seasonal cultivations and irrigated from non-irrigated crops. Furthermore, the pheno-classes correlated with permanent and non-irrigated crops were the less fragmented, while the pheno-classes related to the irrigated crops were the most fragmented, but also the most connected. Characterizing the landscape from a phenological perspective allows describing the territory in terms of performance and seasonality, which are the main agricultural components affected by climate change.
The Professional Geographer, Nov 1, 2013
ABSTRACT This article analyzes the territorial disparities in the level of land vulnerability (TD... more ABSTRACT This article analyzes the territorial disparities in the level of land vulnerability (TDLV) to soil degradation caused by five processes (soil erosion, salinization, sealing, contamination, and compaction) as well as by climate variations in Italy in 1990 and 2000. The analysis reveals, for each soil degradation process, a typical spatial distribution across Italy. Three processes (soil salinization, compaction, and sealing) contribute significantly to the increase in land vulnerability, which is mainly concentrated in risky areas. The observed disparities highlight a growing environmental divide between northern Italy (an economically developed region, not at risk of desertification) and southern Italy and the two main islands (dry, disadvantaged regions at risk of desertification). The knowledge of such a territorial divide and of the underlying soil degradation processes is regarded as important for environmental policies at the country and regional scales aimed at sustaining the economic and socioenvironmental cohesion between areas that are either vulnerable or nonvulnerable to soil degradation. The proposed approach should be seen as part of a decision-making tool informing policies and supporting the design of management solutions, hopefully reversing disparities in land vulnerability to soil degradation.
PLOS ONE, Jun 2, 2017
Land quality, a key economic capital supporting local development, is affected by biophysical and... more Land quality, a key economic capital supporting local development, is affected by biophysical and anthropogenic factors. Taken as a relevant attribute of economic systems, land quality has shaped the territorial organization of any given region influencing localization of agriculture, industry and settlements. In regions with long-established human-landscape interactions, such as the Mediterranean basin, land quality has determined social disparities and polarization in the use of land, reflecting the action of geographical gradients based on elevation and population density. The present study investigates latent relationships within a large set of indicators profiling local communities and land quality on a fine-grained resolution scale in Italy with the aim to assess the potential impact of land quality on the regional socioeconomic structure. The importance of land quality gradients in the socioeconomic configuration of urban and rural regions was verified analyzing the distribution of 149 socioeconomic and environmental indicators organized in 5 themes and 17 research dimensions. Agriculture, income, education and labour market variables discriminate areas with high land quality from areas with low land quality. While differential land quality in peri-urban areas may reflect conflicts between competing actors, moderate (or low) quality of land in rural districts is associated with depopulation, land abandonment, subsidence agriculture, unemployment and low educational levels. We conclude that the socioeconomic profile of local communities has been influenced by land quality in a different way along urban-rural gradients. Policies integrating environmental and socioeconomic measures are required to consider land quality as a pivotal target for sustainable development. Regional planning will benefit from an in-depth understanding of place-specific relationships between local communities and the environment.
Agricultural Systems, Jun 1, 2023
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Apr 1, 2018
Journal of Cleaner Production, Dec 1, 2018
The aim of this study is to analyze the network structure and the conceptual evolution of researc... more The aim of this study is to analyze the network structure and the conceptual evolution of research on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) through time. A scientific mapping approach was used to this aim and applied to a set of scientific publications about GMOs from 1990 to 2016 retrieved from the Elsevier Scopus database. Throughout the analyzed period, the Scopus search provided 13,851 documents. In the twenty-seven years period considered, USA resulted as the most productive country followed by China and Germany. According to the co-term analysis, nominal phrases were individually assigned into three clusters, which distinguished three separate branches of research: the genomics studies, the genetic transformation, and the agronomic topics. Furthermore, results demonstrated that before 2000 the GMOs research was mainly focused on Agrobacterium tumefaciens. To the contrary, from 2000 onwards, the researchers' attention mainly concentrated on the Arabidopsis thaliana, the most used model organism in laboratory studies. The year 2000 represented also the starting point for the studies of both the negative and positive impacts of GM plants cultivation on the environment as well as on citizen health. This study allowed, on one side, to demonstrate the increasing scientific interest in GMOs research field and, on the other side, to highlight the shifting towards new GM topics like the social acceptability of the genetically modified products and the environmental impacts of biotechnologies. This study may represent a useful tool for researchers and policy makers to identify research gaps and overlaps in the GM scientific field.
<p>Satellite observations represent a valuable tool for studying vegetation dynamic... more <p>Satellite observations represent a valuable tool for studying vegetation dynamics because they provide consistent and timely views of Earth's surface with time and space continuity, allowing for detecting changes in phenological patterns. The temporal evolution of remotely sensed (RS) vegetation indices spans the distinct plant growth stages observed from the ground, lending itself to extracting phenological metrics (RS phenometrics), such as the timing of the start, the end, and the duration of the growing season. Finding a meaningful correlation between RS phenometrics and ground observations paves the way to build a near real-time phenological monitoring system where a large amount of RS data are processed over large areas and at a low cost. We developed an analytic method to extract an ensemble of hazelnut phenological metrics from the MODIS 8-day Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) using the phenofit R package and to correlate them with ground observations collected during weekly surveys in 2019-2022 on 20 hazelnut orchards in Turkey (> 1500 observations). A process-based phenological model driven by chilling, forcing, and photoperiod has been calibrated using ground and RS phenometrics as reference data. Model performances in hindcast mode (2000-2019) have been evaluated concerning the reproduction of RS spring phenology over the Turkish hazelnut growing area.</p><p>Results showed a marked temporal gradient among the extracted RS phenometrics in different moments of spring vegetative development. Significant correlations have been detected considering early buds break phases and nuts cluster appearance, showing the potential of the method for predicting hazelnut vegetation phases in near-real time. The Greenup, Upturning Date, and Start of Season metrics occurred at the beginning of the onset process, in association with BBCH phases referred to female flowering, generally observed before early bud break. On the contrary, Stabilization Date, Maturity, and Peak of Season metrics marked the end of spring vegetative phenology, the former occurring in proximity to the visible nuts cluster phase. The 50% threshold and Derivative Start of Season metrics described the steepest portion of the EVI curve, i.e., the greening and thickening process of the orchard canopy, in correspondence with nuts ovary enlargement and leaves expansion. Key findings were that female flowers blooming and ending occur before the 20% development of the hazelnut vegetative process. In contrast, RS phenometrics referred to the Start of Season well aligned with leaf emergence, and the nuts cluster appearance marked the Maturity of the growing season. The calibration of the phenological model led to the accurate reproduction of ground and RS phenometrics, and its spatially distributed application revealed temporal and local phenological patterns over the main Turkish hazelnut cultivation area.</p><p>Our findings have significant implications for improving the interpretation of RS hazelnut phenology, distinguishing the timing of canopy dynamics, understanding the impact of environmental cues, and evaluating climate-forcing effects on hazelnut vegetation. The implementation of the analytical method in a near-real-time monitoring system will be presented, as well as its potential to analyze hazelnut health in response to abiotic (cold, frost, heat) and biotic (pests, diseases) stresses in sensitive phenological phases from satellite observations.</p>
International Journal of Remote Sensing, Jan 27, 2019
The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) represent one of the most important innovation technologies o... more The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) represent one of the most important innovation technologies of the last years; the progress made in the field of sensors has allowed to equip the UAVs with various devices: high resolution digital cameras, multi-spectral cameras, LIDAR, sensors for air quality monitoring, as well as devices for transporting and distributing agricultural products, sanitary facilities, commercial products, etc. The equipping of drones with optical, radar and thermal sensors, in association with georeferencing systems, enabled to support scientific investigations in both agriculture and forestry research fields. In this perspective, the aim of this work is to analyze the scientific production of the last twenty years on the use of UAVs in agriculture and forestry research in terms of: number of papers, type of publications, journals, countries, scientific organizations involved, and keywords used. Results demonstrated that the UAV-based research is still largely fragmented, but with emerging topics, and that agriculture and forestry exploit different aspects of UAV technologies: the former mainly focused on precision farming and crop status monitoring, while the latter on laser and radar data for canopy structural analysis and vegetation mapping.
Geographical Research, Sep 19, 2011
In recent years, aridity and drought have become crucial issues at the global scale because of th... more In recent years, aridity and drought have become crucial issues at the global scale because of their environmental and socioeconomic implications. On the one hand, aridity causes a reduction in the biological and economic productivity of terrestrial ecosystems, and represents a serious threat to ecological, biogeochemical, and hydrological processes. On the other hand, human use (and abuse) of vulnerable dry land ecosystems may lead to unsustainable land management. Based on these considerations, this paper analyses the recent land cover changes observed in Latium (Italy) during the exceptionally dry period 2000-2007. More than 50% of the area investigated was classified as dry in 2004-2007 compared with 0% in 2000-2003. Moreover, climatic aridity impacted differently on seminatural, agricultural, and built-up land. These findings illustrate a possible scenario for suburban Mediterranean regions: increasing aridity (mainly due to rising temperatures) mainly impacting on peri-urban land.
Science of The Total Environment, Oct 1, 2023
Land Use Policy, Jul 1, 2017
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) cropping promoted by different researchers, and the subsequ... more Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) cropping promoted by different researchers, and the subsequent crisis regarding the safety of food derived from them, has resulted in strong public mistrust towards the authorities, both scientific and political. The aim of this work is to investigate the perception of Italian undergraduates and researchers towards the introduction of GMOs in agro-forestry. The factors determining attitudes towards GMOs were examined by means of 66 questions divided into three units: Knowledge, Opinon, Trust. Anagrafic and socio-cultural information were also analyzed. Data was processed through a multivariate analysis approach. The hierarchical clustering on undergraduates and researchers allowed to distinguish clusters of respondents skilled in biotechnology from those skilled in off-topic disciplines. Principal component analysis and K-means demonstrated that the positive or negative opinion toward GMOs, as for undergraduates, does not depend on their knowledge, but it is associated with the level of trust in the institutions. On the contrary, for researchers, it is related to their expertise level, without any linkage to trust in the institutions. This type of study may represent a key step for understanding the social, economic and scientific components underlying the choices of citizens, communities and society about GMOs.
Ecological Indicators, Dec 1, 2012
Applied Geography, 2011
This paper illustrates an example of 'early warning' assessment of sensitivity to land degradatio... more This paper illustrates an example of 'early warning' assessment of sensitivity to land degradation (LD) over Italy by monitoring changes of its main determinants during a long-term period (1960e2008) and by providing a short-term evaluation for 2015. These objectives were gained (i) by analysing trends of several climate, vegetation, and land use variables, regarded as the main underlying factors to LD, (ii) by calculating the standard Environmental Sensitive Area Index (ESAI) in 1960, 1990, 2000 and 2008, and (iii) by projecting the ESAI changes in the near future. An evident increase in the number and extent of areas sensitive to LD was observed during the last fifty years in southern Italy. Interestingly, the reduction of rainfall amounts, together with increasing population density and agricultural intensification, are leading northern Italy to a high level of sensitivity too. The applicability of the ESA scheme to a permanent monitoring of LD sensitivity in the Mediterranean landscape was discussed for improvements at the regional scale.
Remote Sensing, Jul 25, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Precision Agriculture, Oct 25, 2022
Grapevine simulation models are mostly used to estimate plant development, growth and yield at pl... more Grapevine simulation models are mostly used to estimate plant development, growth and yield at plot scale. However, the spatial variability of pedologic and micro-climatic conditions can influence vine growth, leading to a sub-field heterogeneity in plant vigor and final yield that may be better estimated through the assimilation of high spatial resolution data in crop models. In this study, the spatial variability of grapevine intercepted radiation at fruit-set was used as input for a grapevine simulation model to estimate the variability in biomass accumulation and yield in two Tuscan vineyards (Sites A and B). In Site A, the model, forced with intercepted radiation data as derived from the leaf area index (LAI), measured at canopy level in three main vigor areas of the vineyard, provided a satisfactory simulation of the final pruning weight (r 2 = 0.61; RMSE = 19.86 dry matter g m −2). In Site B, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from Sentinel-2A images was firstly re-scaled to account for canopy fraction cover over the study areas and then used as a proxy for grapevine intercepted radiation for each single pixel. These data were used to drive the grapevine simulation model accounting for spatial variability of plant vigor to reproduce yield variability at pixel scale (r 2 = 0.47; RMSE = 75.52 dry matter g m −2). This study represents the first step towards the realization of a decision tool supporting winegrowers in the selection of the most appropriate agronomic practices for reducing the vine vigor and yield variability at sub-field level.
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Apr 1, 2016
, (2) Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria-Council for Agric... more , (2) Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria-Council for Agricultural Research and Economics,
Annals of Silvicultural Research, 2020
Accurate estimates of canopy cover (CC) are central for a wide range of forestry studies. As dire... more Accurate estimates of canopy cover (CC) are central for a wide range of forestry studies. As direct measurements are impractical, indirect optical methods have often been used to estimate CC from the complement of gap fraction measurements obtained with restricted-view sensors. In this short note we evaluated the influence of the image pixel resolution (ground sampling distance; GSD) on CC estimation in poplar plantations obtained from field (cover photography; GSD < 1 cm), unmanned aerial (UAV; GSD <10 cm) and satellite (Sentinel-2; GSD = 10 m) imagery. The trial was conducted in poplar tree plantations in Northern Italy, with varying age and canopy cover. Results indicated that the coarser resolution available from satellite data is suitable to obtain estimates of canopy cover, as compared with field measurements obtained from cover photography; therefore, S2 isrecommended for larger scale monitoring and routine assessment of canopy cover in poplar plantations. The higher re...
Proceedings of SPIE, Jul 2, 2013
The analysis of land cover dynamics provides insight into many environmental problems. However, t... more The analysis of land cover dynamics provides insight into many environmental problems. However, there are few data sources which can be used to derive consistent time series, remote sensing being one of the most valuable ones. Due to their multi-temporal and spatial coverage needs, such analysis is usually based on large land cover datasets, which requires automated, objective and repeatable procedures. The USGS Landsat archives provide free access to multispectral, high-resolution remotely sensed data starting from the mid-eighties; in many cases, however, only single date images are available. This paper suggests an objective approach for generating land cover information from 30m resolution and single date Landsat archive satellite imagery. A procedure was developed integrating pixel-based and object-oriented classifiers, which consists of the following basic steps: i) pre-processing of the satellite image, including radiance and reflectance calibration, texture analysis and derivation of vegetation indices, ii) segmentation of the pre-processed image, iii) its classification integrating both radiometric and textural properties. The integrated procedure was tested for an area in Sardinia Region, Italy, and compared with a purely pixel-based one. Results demonstrated that a better overall accuracy, evaluated against the available land cover cartography, was obtained with the integrated (86%) compared to the pixel-based classification (68%) at the first CORINE Land Cover level. The proposed methodology needs to be further tested for evaluating its trasferability in time (constructing comparable land cover time series) and space (for covering larger areas).
Scottish geographical journal, Jun 1, 2013
Quantifying the environmental vulnerability and the resilience of rapidly changing Mediterranean ... more Quantifying the environmental vulnerability and the resilience of rapidly changing Mediterranean landscapes under climate change is a crucial undertaking for the sustainable management of regions experiencing intense human pressure. This paper diachronically (1975-2006) analyses the impact of land-use changes (LUCs) on land vulnerability to desertification at two coastal sites in southern Italy with different environmental and socioeconomic conditions to identify landscape responses to territorial reconfiguration. We found that both initial land vulnerability and its increase over time are higher in areas experiencing LUCs than in areas with stable patterns of land-use. Stable, low levels of land vulnerability to desertification were associated with forests and semi-natural areas, while urbanisation and agricultural intensification led to marked increases in land vulnerability. The procedure outlined in this paper is suitable for identifying land-use trajectories associated with the desertification processes and may inform policies aimed at preventing soil and land degradation.
Monitoring and mapping agricultural areas is a major concern in the framework of global change an... more Monitoring and mapping agricultural areas is a major concern in the framework of global change and the use of remote sensing data to classify agricultural areas is quite common. The objective of this work is to classify the Capitanata plain, a typical Mediterranean agricultural area in Apulia (Italy), from a crop seasonality viewpoint and to explore the phenological heterogeneity of the study area. To this aim, we exploited the temporal and spatial resolution of Sentinel-2 remote sensing data. Results demonstrated that the pheno-classes identified clearly distinguish permanent from seasonal cultivations and irrigated from non-irrigated crops. Furthermore, the pheno-classes correlated with permanent and non-irrigated crops were the less fragmented, while the pheno-classes related to the irrigated crops were the most fragmented, but also the most connected. Characterizing the landscape from a phenological perspective allows describing the territory in terms of performance and seasonality, which are the main agricultural components affected by climate change.
The Professional Geographer, Nov 1, 2013
ABSTRACT This article analyzes the territorial disparities in the level of land vulnerability (TD... more ABSTRACT This article analyzes the territorial disparities in the level of land vulnerability (TDLV) to soil degradation caused by five processes (soil erosion, salinization, sealing, contamination, and compaction) as well as by climate variations in Italy in 1990 and 2000. The analysis reveals, for each soil degradation process, a typical spatial distribution across Italy. Three processes (soil salinization, compaction, and sealing) contribute significantly to the increase in land vulnerability, which is mainly concentrated in risky areas. The observed disparities highlight a growing environmental divide between northern Italy (an economically developed region, not at risk of desertification) and southern Italy and the two main islands (dry, disadvantaged regions at risk of desertification). The knowledge of such a territorial divide and of the underlying soil degradation processes is regarded as important for environmental policies at the country and regional scales aimed at sustaining the economic and socioenvironmental cohesion between areas that are either vulnerable or nonvulnerable to soil degradation. The proposed approach should be seen as part of a decision-making tool informing policies and supporting the design of management solutions, hopefully reversing disparities in land vulnerability to soil degradation.
PLOS ONE, Jun 2, 2017
Land quality, a key economic capital supporting local development, is affected by biophysical and... more Land quality, a key economic capital supporting local development, is affected by biophysical and anthropogenic factors. Taken as a relevant attribute of economic systems, land quality has shaped the territorial organization of any given region influencing localization of agriculture, industry and settlements. In regions with long-established human-landscape interactions, such as the Mediterranean basin, land quality has determined social disparities and polarization in the use of land, reflecting the action of geographical gradients based on elevation and population density. The present study investigates latent relationships within a large set of indicators profiling local communities and land quality on a fine-grained resolution scale in Italy with the aim to assess the potential impact of land quality on the regional socioeconomic structure. The importance of land quality gradients in the socioeconomic configuration of urban and rural regions was verified analyzing the distribution of 149 socioeconomic and environmental indicators organized in 5 themes and 17 research dimensions. Agriculture, income, education and labour market variables discriminate areas with high land quality from areas with low land quality. While differential land quality in peri-urban areas may reflect conflicts between competing actors, moderate (or low) quality of land in rural districts is associated with depopulation, land abandonment, subsidence agriculture, unemployment and low educational levels. We conclude that the socioeconomic profile of local communities has been influenced by land quality in a different way along urban-rural gradients. Policies integrating environmental and socioeconomic measures are required to consider land quality as a pivotal target for sustainable development. Regional planning will benefit from an in-depth understanding of place-specific relationships between local communities and the environment.
Agricultural Systems, Jun 1, 2023
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Apr 1, 2018
Journal of Cleaner Production, Dec 1, 2018
The aim of this study is to analyze the network structure and the conceptual evolution of researc... more The aim of this study is to analyze the network structure and the conceptual evolution of research on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) through time. A scientific mapping approach was used to this aim and applied to a set of scientific publications about GMOs from 1990 to 2016 retrieved from the Elsevier Scopus database. Throughout the analyzed period, the Scopus search provided 13,851 documents. In the twenty-seven years period considered, USA resulted as the most productive country followed by China and Germany. According to the co-term analysis, nominal phrases were individually assigned into three clusters, which distinguished three separate branches of research: the genomics studies, the genetic transformation, and the agronomic topics. Furthermore, results demonstrated that before 2000 the GMOs research was mainly focused on Agrobacterium tumefaciens. To the contrary, from 2000 onwards, the researchers' attention mainly concentrated on the Arabidopsis thaliana, the most used model organism in laboratory studies. The year 2000 represented also the starting point for the studies of both the negative and positive impacts of GM plants cultivation on the environment as well as on citizen health. This study allowed, on one side, to demonstrate the increasing scientific interest in GMOs research field and, on the other side, to highlight the shifting towards new GM topics like the social acceptability of the genetically modified products and the environmental impacts of biotechnologies. This study may represent a useful tool for researchers and policy makers to identify research gaps and overlaps in the GM scientific field.
<p>Satellite observations represent a valuable tool for studying vegetation dynamic... more <p>Satellite observations represent a valuable tool for studying vegetation dynamics because they provide consistent and timely views of Earth's surface with time and space continuity, allowing for detecting changes in phenological patterns. The temporal evolution of remotely sensed (RS) vegetation indices spans the distinct plant growth stages observed from the ground, lending itself to extracting phenological metrics (RS phenometrics), such as the timing of the start, the end, and the duration of the growing season. Finding a meaningful correlation between RS phenometrics and ground observations paves the way to build a near real-time phenological monitoring system where a large amount of RS data are processed over large areas and at a low cost. We developed an analytic method to extract an ensemble of hazelnut phenological metrics from the MODIS 8-day Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) using the phenofit R package and to correlate them with ground observations collected during weekly surveys in 2019-2022 on 20 hazelnut orchards in Turkey (> 1500 observations). A process-based phenological model driven by chilling, forcing, and photoperiod has been calibrated using ground and RS phenometrics as reference data. Model performances in hindcast mode (2000-2019) have been evaluated concerning the reproduction of RS spring phenology over the Turkish hazelnut growing area.</p><p>Results showed a marked temporal gradient among the extracted RS phenometrics in different moments of spring vegetative development. Significant correlations have been detected considering early buds break phases and nuts cluster appearance, showing the potential of the method for predicting hazelnut vegetation phases in near-real time. The Greenup, Upturning Date, and Start of Season metrics occurred at the beginning of the onset process, in association with BBCH phases referred to female flowering, generally observed before early bud break. On the contrary, Stabilization Date, Maturity, and Peak of Season metrics marked the end of spring vegetative phenology, the former occurring in proximity to the visible nuts cluster phase. The 50% threshold and Derivative Start of Season metrics described the steepest portion of the EVI curve, i.e., the greening and thickening process of the orchard canopy, in correspondence with nuts ovary enlargement and leaves expansion. Key findings were that female flowers blooming and ending occur before the 20% development of the hazelnut vegetative process. In contrast, RS phenometrics referred to the Start of Season well aligned with leaf emergence, and the nuts cluster appearance marked the Maturity of the growing season. The calibration of the phenological model led to the accurate reproduction of ground and RS phenometrics, and its spatially distributed application revealed temporal and local phenological patterns over the main Turkish hazelnut cultivation area.</p><p>Our findings have significant implications for improving the interpretation of RS hazelnut phenology, distinguishing the timing of canopy dynamics, understanding the impact of environmental cues, and evaluating climate-forcing effects on hazelnut vegetation. The implementation of the analytical method in a near-real-time monitoring system will be presented, as well as its potential to analyze hazelnut health in response to abiotic (cold, frost, heat) and biotic (pests, diseases) stresses in sensitive phenological phases from satellite observations.</p>
International Journal of Remote Sensing, Jan 27, 2019
The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) represent one of the most important innovation technologies o... more The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) represent one of the most important innovation technologies of the last years; the progress made in the field of sensors has allowed to equip the UAVs with various devices: high resolution digital cameras, multi-spectral cameras, LIDAR, sensors for air quality monitoring, as well as devices for transporting and distributing agricultural products, sanitary facilities, commercial products, etc. The equipping of drones with optical, radar and thermal sensors, in association with georeferencing systems, enabled to support scientific investigations in both agriculture and forestry research fields. In this perspective, the aim of this work is to analyze the scientific production of the last twenty years on the use of UAVs in agriculture and forestry research in terms of: number of papers, type of publications, journals, countries, scientific organizations involved, and keywords used. Results demonstrated that the UAV-based research is still largely fragmented, but with emerging topics, and that agriculture and forestry exploit different aspects of UAV technologies: the former mainly focused on precision farming and crop status monitoring, while the latter on laser and radar data for canopy structural analysis and vegetation mapping.
Geographical Research, Sep 19, 2011
In recent years, aridity and drought have become crucial issues at the global scale because of th... more In recent years, aridity and drought have become crucial issues at the global scale because of their environmental and socioeconomic implications. On the one hand, aridity causes a reduction in the biological and economic productivity of terrestrial ecosystems, and represents a serious threat to ecological, biogeochemical, and hydrological processes. On the other hand, human use (and abuse) of vulnerable dry land ecosystems may lead to unsustainable land management. Based on these considerations, this paper analyses the recent land cover changes observed in Latium (Italy) during the exceptionally dry period 2000-2007. More than 50% of the area investigated was classified as dry in 2004-2007 compared with 0% in 2000-2003. Moreover, climatic aridity impacted differently on seminatural, agricultural, and built-up land. These findings illustrate a possible scenario for suburban Mediterranean regions: increasing aridity (mainly due to rising temperatures) mainly impacting on peri-urban land.
Science of The Total Environment, Oct 1, 2023
Land Use Policy, Jul 1, 2017
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) cropping promoted by different researchers, and the subsequ... more Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) cropping promoted by different researchers, and the subsequent crisis regarding the safety of food derived from them, has resulted in strong public mistrust towards the authorities, both scientific and political. The aim of this work is to investigate the perception of Italian undergraduates and researchers towards the introduction of GMOs in agro-forestry. The factors determining attitudes towards GMOs were examined by means of 66 questions divided into three units: Knowledge, Opinon, Trust. Anagrafic and socio-cultural information were also analyzed. Data was processed through a multivariate analysis approach. The hierarchical clustering on undergraduates and researchers allowed to distinguish clusters of respondents skilled in biotechnology from those skilled in off-topic disciplines. Principal component analysis and K-means demonstrated that the positive or negative opinion toward GMOs, as for undergraduates, does not depend on their knowledge, but it is associated with the level of trust in the institutions. On the contrary, for researchers, it is related to their expertise level, without any linkage to trust in the institutions. This type of study may represent a key step for understanding the social, economic and scientific components underlying the choices of citizens, communities and society about GMOs.
Ecological Indicators, Dec 1, 2012
Applied Geography, 2011
This paper illustrates an example of 'early warning' assessment of sensitivity to land degradatio... more This paper illustrates an example of 'early warning' assessment of sensitivity to land degradation (LD) over Italy by monitoring changes of its main determinants during a long-term period (1960e2008) and by providing a short-term evaluation for 2015. These objectives were gained (i) by analysing trends of several climate, vegetation, and land use variables, regarded as the main underlying factors to LD, (ii) by calculating the standard Environmental Sensitive Area Index (ESAI) in 1960, 1990, 2000 and 2008, and (iii) by projecting the ESAI changes in the near future. An evident increase in the number and extent of areas sensitive to LD was observed during the last fifty years in southern Italy. Interestingly, the reduction of rainfall amounts, together with increasing population density and agricultural intensification, are leading northern Italy to a high level of sensitivity too. The applicability of the ESA scheme to a permanent monitoring of LD sensitivity in the Mediterranean landscape was discussed for improvements at the regional scale.
Remote Sensing, Jul 25, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY