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Clothing insulation represents an important parameter strongly dependent on climate/weather variability and directly involved in the assessment of the human energy balance. Few studies tried to explore the influence of climate changes on the optimal clothing insulation for outdoor spaces. For this reason, the aim of this work was to investigate mainly the optimal outdoor minimum clothing insulation value required to reach the thermal neutrality (min_clo) related to climate change on a seasonal basis. Subsequently, we developed an example of operational biometeorological procedure to provide 72-hour forecast maps concerning the min_clo. Hourly meteorological data were provided by three Italian weather stations located in Turin, Rome and Palermo, for the period 1951-1995. Environmental variables and subjective characteristics referred to an average adult young male at rest and at a very high metabolic rate were used as input variables to calculate the min_clo by using a thermal index based on the human energy balance. Trends of min_clo were assessed by a non-parametric statistical method. Results showed a lower magnitude of trends in a subject at a very high metabolic rate than at rest. Turin always showed a decrease of min_clo during the study period and prevalently negative trends were also observed in Palermo. On the other hand, an opposite situation was observed in Rome, especially during the morning in all seasons. The development of a daily operational procedure to forecast customized min_clo could provide useful information for the outdoor clothing fitting that might help to reduce the weather-related human health risk.

Besides playing an essential role in plant photosynthesis, solar radiation is also involved in many other important biological processes. In particular, it has been demonstrated that ultraviolet (UV) solar radiation plays a relevant role in grapevines (Vitis vinifera) in the production of certain important chemical compounds directly responsible for yield and wine quality. Moreover, the exposure to UV-B radiation (280-320 nm) can affect plant-disease interaction by influencing the behaviour of both pathogen and host. The main objective of this research was to characterise the solar radiative regime of a vineyard, in terms of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and UV components. In this analysis, solar spectral UV irradiance components, broadband UV (280-400 nm), spectral UV-B and UV-A (320-400 nm), the biological effective UVBE, as well as the PAR (400-700 nm) component, were all considered. The diurnal patterns of these quantities and the UV-B/PAR and UV-B/UV-A ratios were analysed to investigate the effect of row orientation of the vineyard in combination with solar azimuth and elevation angles. The distribution of PAR and UV irradiance at various heights of the vertical sides of the rows was also studied. The results showed that the highest portion of plants received higher levels of daily radiation, especially the UV-B component. Row orientation of the vines had a pronounced effect on the global PAR received by the two sides of the rows and, to a lesser extent, UV-A and UV-B. When only the diffused component was considered, this geometrical effect was greatly attenuated. UV-B/PAR and UV-A/PAR ratios were also affected, with potential consequences on physiological processes. Because of the high diffusive capacity of the UV-B radiation, the UV-B/PAR ratio was significantly lower on the plant portions exposed to full sunlight than on those in the shade.

The role of flavonoids in the response of plants to Plasmopara viticola, the phytopathogen agent of downy mildew, was studied in the Vitis vinifera L. cultivar Sangiovese. Grapevines in the vineyard were exposed to two light regimes, 100% and 35% of full sunlight in order to induce differences in total leaf polyphenolic content. Epidermal leaf phenolic compounds were assessed optically, using the Dualex chlorophyll fluorescence-based portable leaf-clip. Dualex data were calibrated by means of HPLC analysis of extracts from the same measured leaves. Good correlations were obtained with total flavonoid contents, which consist mainly of quercetin 3-O-glucuronide. From the Dualex non-destructive measurements, we showed that full-sun exposed leaves contained 75% more flavonoids than shaded leaves. Inoculation of leaves with P. viticola sporangia resulted in a significantly lower infected leaf area in sun-lit leaves compared with shaded ones, as seen from subsequent analysis of the downy mildew severity. These results indicated an inverse relationship between preformed flavonoids and the susceptibility of grapevines to downy mildew. The rapid optical method for the non-destructive assessment of flavonoids presented here could be useful for large scale screening and predicting V. vinifera susceptibility to P. viticola.

I fattori del clima (precipitazioni, temperatura, radiazione, umidità dell'aria) influenzano i diversi elementi del ciclo vegeto - produttivo della vite (Vitis vinifera) e l'efficacia delle operazioni colturali, agendo in ultima analisi sulla qualità e quantità finale delle produzioni. Questo studio si propone di analizzare le relazioni esistenti tra la qualità di alcuni pregiati vini italiani e condizioni meteorologiche su vasta scala. La disponibilità di un'ampia serie storica di dati meteorologici e di qualità della produzione per il Brunello di Montalcino (oltre 50 anni) ha permesso di effettuare su tale area una ricerca dettagliata. La ricerca è stata inoltre estesa ad altri vini del centro nord Italia impiegando, oltre al "Brunello di Montalcino", anche il "Vino Nobile di Montepulciano", il "Chianti Classico", il "Barolo", il "Barbaresco" e l' "Amarone"; per questa parte dello studio i dati di qualità del vino disponibili hanno permesso di analizzare il periodo 1970-2002. Le relazioni individuate sono state quindi utilizzate per verificare l'esistenza di trend temporali nell'andamento delle condizioni e quindi per valutare eventuali segnali di cambiamento climatico e il loro impatto sulla qualità dei vini.

Calculations for the J=0 bound states associated with the two title molecular systems are carried out using distributed Gaussian function approach and using the sum of two-body potential approximation to describe the overall interactions. The results yield one bound state for the neutral trimer and three bound states for the anionic triatom. The relative values of dissociation energies place the first dissociation threshold at the H emission for the neutral complex and at the He emission for the corresponding anion. The general spatial properties of the various bound states are analyzed on both systems.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the risk of hospital admission for myocardial infarction (MI) and the daily weather conditions during the winters of 1998–2003, according to an air-mass-based synoptic climatological approach. The effects of time lag and 2-day sequences with specific air mass types were also investigated. Studies concerning the relationship between atmospheric conditions and human health need to take into consideration simultaneous effects of many weather variables. At the moment few studies have surveyed these effects on hospitalizations for MI. Analyses were concentrated on winter, when the maximum peak of hospitalization occurred. An objective daily air mass classification by means of statistical analyses based on ground meteorological data was carried out. A comparison between air mass classification and hospital admissions was made by the calculation of a MI admission index, and to detect significant relationships the Mann–Whitney U test, the analysis of variance, and the Bonferroni test were used. Significant increases in hospital admissions for MI were evident 24 h after a day characterized by an anticyclonic continental air mass and 6 days after a day characterized by a cyclonic air mass. Increased risk of hospitalization was found even when specific 2-day air mass sequences occurred. These results represent an important step in identifying reliable linkages between weather and health.

La principale fonte di energia per il pianeta terra è costituita dalla radiazione solare, che irradia la superficie terrestre in modo disomogeneo in funzione della latitudine e del periodo dell'anno. In particolare, analizzando questo fenomeno più in dettaglio si osserva che durante l'anno la quantità di radiazione incidente sulla superficie compresa fra i tropici risulta essere superiore rispetto a quella emessa e riflessa (bilancio positivo) mentre l'opposto (bilancio negativo) si verifica in corrispondenza dei poli, mantenendo un generale equilibrio fra energia in ingresso ed energia in uscita a livello planetario. Una tale distribuzione dell'energia, se vista in maniera statica, porterebbe tuttavia a un progressivo e continuo riscaldamento delle aree tropicali, contrapposto a un continuo raffreddamento delle zone polari. In realtà la differenza di energia che si registra tra queste parti del globo attiva la circolazione atmosferica e oceanica, che determina scambi di energia su vasta scala fra le diverse latitudini, mantenendovi condizioni mediamente stabili e soggette sostanzialmente al ciclo delle stagioni, determinando il clima di ogni regione. I cambiamenti climatici osservati negli ultimi anni sono in gran parte attribuibili all'effetto dell'antropizzazione e principalmente causati dall'aumento nell'atmosfera di gas a effetto serra (anidride carbonica, metano, ossidi di azoto), che intrappolano una quantità maggiore di energia e spostano l'equilibrio energetico sopra citato, ampliando oltre i tropici l'area in cui l'energia in entrata è superiore a quella in uscita. Tutto ciò si ripercuote sul clima, sia modificando i rapporti tra i campi di pressione responsabili dell'andamento climatico durante le diverse stagioni dell'anno -favorendo la persistenza prolungata di situazioni meteorologiche che in passato non si presentavano di frequente -sia determinando l'aumento della frequenza di eventi estremi, a causa della maggior quantità di energia disponibile nell'atmosfera (precipitazioni intense, grandinate, venti violenti ecc). L'importanza dell'andamento meteorologico durante la stagione vegetativa per la vite (Vitis vinifera L.) è ormai nota a tutti; i fattori del clima (precipitazioni, temperatura, radiazione, umidità dell'aria) influenzano i diversi elementi del ciclo vegeto - produttivo della vite e l'efficacia delle operazioni colturali, agendo in ultima analisi sulla qualità e quantità finale delle produzioni. L'effetto dei cambiamenti climatici finora osservato o previsto sulla base di scenari futuri è principalmente collegabile a una variazione nella data di comparsa di alcune fasi fenologiche, mentre molto meno sappiamo dell'impatto in termini quali-quantitativi sulla produzione. Precedenti lavori hanno infatti rilevato che i problemi maggiori per la viticoltura potrebbero derivare da un anticipo del germogliamento, da un conseguente maggiore rischio di gelate, da un eccesso di disponibilità termica che potrebbe portare ad un accorciamento del ciclo di crescita.

L'attività viticola è fortemente influenzata dalle condizioni meteorologiche che agiscono sui comportamenti della coltura determinando, in ultima analisi, quantità e qualità della produzione. La possibilità di studiare questi aspetti sulla base della variabilità meteo-climatica che si è accentuata negli ultimi anni e nella prospettiva del cambiamento climatico previsto per i prossimi decenni ha quindi un'importanza rilevante per fornire agli operatori strumenti di analisi e previsione utili per la gestione e pianificazione della loro attività. A partire da queste considerazioni, la presente ricerca è stata condotta con lo scopo di investigare la relazione esistente fra le condizioni meteo-climatiche e le caratteristiche qualitative del vino Brunello di Montalcino (Siena). Per quanto riguarda la qualità della produzione è stato utilizzato un indicatore sintetico annuale basato sull'analisi sensoriale del vino. Le condizioni meteorologiche della stagione di crescita sono state invece analizzate utilizzando i dati di stazioni a terra, quelli provenienti dalle Reanalysis (NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis Project), i valori dell'Indice NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) e alcuni scenari futuri relativi ai cambiamenti climatici. I risultati mostrano significative correlazioni fra qualità e regime termo-pluviometrico della zona di produzione del Brunello e possono rappresentare il presupposto per la creazione di un sistema di monitoraggio e previsione della produzione viticola di qualità. Relativamente al possibile impatto dei futuri cambiamenti climatici, i risultati evidenziano come eccessi termici potranno incidere sulla qualità della produzione enologica.

Objectives To calculate threshold values of weather discomfort which increase the risk of hospital admissions for myocardial infarction in winter and summer. Background Notwithstanding heat waves were reported to acutely increase hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases, large surveys failed to reveal any increase of event rates with increasing air temperature. However, the assessment of air temperature does not allow evaluation of the actual discomfort perception caused by the combination of different meteorological parameters. Methods Hospital admissions for myocardial infarction for the period 1998–2002 in Florence, Italy, were considered. The percentages of variation of daily event rates according to daily mean air temperature variations were preliminary derived by using a regression analysis. An alternative biometeorological approach, considering the Apparent Temperature Index (ATI) in summer, and the New U.S./Canada Wind Chill Temperature Index (NWCTI) in winter, which combine air temperature, relative humidity and wind velocity, was then used. Results The traditional approach showed that daily event rates significantly increased with daily mean air temperature decrease (10 °C decrease were associated with 19% increase in daily event rates for people older than 65 years), but failed to show any negative effect caused by hot climatic conditions. Conversely the biometeorological approach allowed to show that at least 9 h per day of severe discomfort caused by hot conditions significantly increased the rate of admission ( P Conclusions This approach might be useful for the development of an operative weather watch/warning system for population and for hospital professional care.

A family of high-performance 3D imaging laser sensors are presented providing rapid acquisition of 3D data of naturally reflecting objects within a wide field-of-view and with ranges up to 1000 meters. Beside the basic 3D-information the sensors also supply, pixel for pixel, true color information gained by an additional passive channel. This color information allows an instantaneous automatic texturing of 3D models. The sensors are of a rugged and compact design and can thus be used even under adverse environmental conditions. Potential applications include scene acquisition for virtual reality modeling, 3D-imaging of large buildings in the field of architecture, topographic mapping and dimensional measurements of vessels, furnaces, tanks, etc. The sensor makes use of high-speed laser ranging based on the time-of-flight method using a pulsed laser source in combination with precise mechanical scanning of the measuring beam. Data are provided at a standard parallel interface allowing easy integration with any standard PC based system for data visualization and data processing. These data are provided with an average data rate up to 18000 measurements per second. Examples of data acquired with the sensors are presented, accuracy and ranging capability are discussed.

Leaf area loss is a typical damage of fungal and insect attacks or hail. In this work growth responses to defoliation were analysed by removing 50% of leaf area at different phenological stages in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Plants defoliated at head-visible stage showed an increased single leaf area which partly compensated the reduction in light interception during the season, while later treatments, during pre-anthesis and complete anthesis, did not show increased single leaf area but a delayed leaf senescence. A decrease in biomass accumulation was observed particularly in pre-anthesis treated plants. Results were implemented into the crop model OILCROP-SUN 6.0 to assess the impact of compensation on growth and yield. It was concluded that leaf area recovery should be incorporated into the growth models for a reliable simulation of yield after partial defoliation. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Research was performed in Poggio Casciano Estate (Chianti area, central Italy) with the aim of defining a general approach to analyse the spatial variability of temperature at the microscale. Hourly data were collected from a network of 27 temperature stations covering an area of about 120 ha and determination coefficients (r2) between station pairs on the basis of different geo-topographical factors were calculated. The data were analysed in order to investigate trends describing the spatial distribution of temperature inside the study area. The results pointed out a strong effect of some topographical condition on the distribution of thermal patterns, in particular altitude and the distance from valley bottoms. The results are discussed in order to formulate a general approach for the characterisation of climatic conditions at small scale. Copyright © 2006 Royal Meteorological Society

H2020 - TWINNING- SERBIA FOR EXCELL (www.serbiaforexcell.com) is a project devoted to people and science. Facing with significant brain drain of excellent postgraduate students at Serbian universities and potential "crowding out" effect at BOKU (Vienna, Austria) and UNIFI (Florence, Italy), TWININNG appears as an ideal opportunity to make further steps towards more profound internationalization of higher education, establishment of new research topics related to agrometeorology and ecophysiological research and to introduce new perspectives in RRI concept of faculties involved.

Solar radiation plays an important role in the development of some fungal diseases due to its direct action on the microorganisms and also its indirect effect on the production of specific plant compounds. This experiment examined the effect of two light environments (100% and 35% of full strength) on the polyphenolic content of grapevine leaves and quantified their relation to resistance to downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola). Leaf epidermal polyphenolic contents were non-destructively measured during the growing season 2006 using the Dualex chlorophyll fluorescence-based portable leaf-clip. The experimental design consisted of six parcels of 30 vines and measurements were performed on the 12 central vines. The leaves were inoculated with a sporangia suspension containing 50,000 sporangia of P. viticola per mL and the disease severity was assessed after the appearance of symptoms. Leaves maintained at 100% sun had high polyphenolic content and significantly lower disease severity compared to leaves under shading nets. These results indicate an inverse relationship between produced polyphenolics and downy mildew severity. A radiação solar exerce papel importante no desenvolvimento de algumas doenças fúngicas, devido à sua ação direta sobre os microorganismos e também devido ao seu efeito indireto sobre a produção de compostos específicos nas plantas. Este experimento examinou o efeito de dois ambientes de luz (100% e 35% da intensidade máxima) sobre o conteúdo de polifenóis nas folhas da videira e quantificou sua relação com a resistência ao míldio (Plasmopara viticola). As concentrações de polifenóis na epiderme das folhas foram quantificadas de forma não destrutiva, durante a estação de crescimento de 2006, usando o equipamento portátil Dualex, baseado na fluorescência da clorofila. O delineamento experimental consistiu de seis parcelas de 30 videiras e as medidas foram feitas nas 12 plantas centrais. As folhas foram inoculadas com uma suspensão de esporângios com 50.000 esporos de P. viticola por mL e a intensidade da doença foi avaliada depois do aparecimento dos primeiros sintomas. As folhas das plantas mantidas à plena luz solar apresentaram alta concentração de polifenóis e severidade da doença significativamente menor do que as folhas das plantas mantidas sob a tela de sombreamento. Estes resultados indicam uma relação inversa entre os polifenóis produzidos pelas folhas da videira e a severidade do míldio.

Objective: Important climate related variations of clinic and ambulatory blood pressure (BP) have been repeatedly reported. However, notwithstanding the wide use of indoor climate control systems, specially in winter, no information is available regarding the role of air temperature values measured proximally to the patient, in particular when focussing on specific components of the 24 h BP profile, such as the morning BP surge (MBPS). Design and Methods: To investigate whether MBPS is affected by outdoor air temperature or by the air temperature measured proximally to the patient, 2120 hypertensives underwent 24 h ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) monitoring with a battery-powered "HOBO" temperature data logger fitted to the carrying pouch of the ABP monitor. Predictors of MBPS were investigated with a multivariate stepwise regression model including age, gender, body mass index, office systolic BP, 24 h average ABP, mean 24 h outdoor atmospheric pressure and mean 24 h air temperature measured both outdoor and by HOBO as independent variables. Results: Stepwise multiple regression analysis carried out in the 1728 subjects included in the final analysis selected outdoor air temperature(beta = -0.09;p < 0.0001), 24 h ABP(beta = -0.72;p < 0.0001), and age(beta = -0.06;p < 0.002) as negative independent predictors of MBPS, with systolic office BP selected as a positive independent predictor (beta = 1,04;p < 0.0001)(r = 0.610); no significant effect of HOBO air temperature was observed. When subjects were stratified according to age, the effect on MBPS of outdoor air temperature was detectable in subjects >65 yrs (beta = -0.086; p < 0.002), whereas the only determinants of MBPS in subjects < 50 yrs were office SBP (positive) and 24 h average SBP(negative). Conclusions: These results confirm and extend previous observation on the occurrence of seasonal changes in 24 h BP profiles, by providing new evidence that only air temperature measured outdoor affects BP morning surge in addition to office BP, 24 h ABP and age, whereas no role appears to be played by air temperature measured proximally to the patient. The clinical implications of these findings for BP control would need to be further tested by ad hoc studies.

As the greater part of current viticulture is based on traditional trellising systems, usually in single hedgewall training, the aim of this research is to evaluate the possibility of introducing alternative trellising systems in order to improve canopy architecture and leaf distribution, and optimize light interception. In 2001 and 2002 field measurements (agrometeorological variables, vegetative growth, productivity and physiological behaviour) and modeling were performed on Sangiovese grapevines in a Tuscan vineyard with two trellis systems: a single hedgewall and a low double hedgewall (lyre trellis). The vines were spur pruned and cordon trained and the planting density was 6,667 vines/hectare. The two trellising systems were distributed in a randomized block design with 4 replications of 3 rows each. Data were collected from the central row. The simulation was obtained using a model, implemented with the Stella language, consisting of three sub-modules concerning photosynthesis, respiration and biomass accumulation. Light interception was greater for the lyre system than for the single cordon, while no differences were obtained in single leaf photosynthesis measurements between the trellis systems. Vegetative growth was higher for the lyre, indicating that lyre had a higher whole plant photosynthesis. The lyre system had greater yield due to a higher cluster number and a higher cluster weight compared to the single cordon training. No differences in must sugar content, titratable acidity or anthocyanins were observed. Models satisfactorily simulate the growth of grapevine under the single cordon system, while the growth of the lyre vine was extremely underestimated., VITIS - Journal of Grapevine Research, Vol. 47 No. 2 (2008): Vitis

A simple simulation model for growth of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Sangiovese) is presented which mainly bases on analytical results from field experiments with plants free of visible stress and diseases. In the model leaf area development is defined as a function of temperature, biomass accumulation as a function of intercepted radiation and fruit growth is calculated from a linear increase of the fruit biomass index with time. The assumptions are discussed and comparisons between simulated and measured results are shown., VITIS - Journal of Grapevine Research, Vol. 36 No. 2 (1997): Vitis

Meteorological conditions strongly affect viticultural activity, modifying grapevine (Vitis vinifera) responses and determining the quality and quantity of production. The analysis of meteorological information can provide viticulturists with operational and forecasting tools for improving the management of vineyards. Meteorological information is presently available on Internet sites with different spatial and temporal scales, allowing easy access and overcoming the necessity of installing costly weather station networks. The present research was performed for the purpose of analyzing the relationship between meteorological information freely available on Internet and the average quality (defined by vintage ratings) of Italian wine. Temperature and precipitation data were analyzed. The presence of teleconnections and their effect on quality was investigated by considering 500 hPa geopotential height, sea surface temperature, and meteorological indices such as North Atlantic Oscillation and Southern Oscillation. Results highlight strong relationships between meteorological conditions and wine quality. Higher-quality wines were obtained in the years characterized by a reduction in rainfall and high temperature patterns. Teleconnections were also detected in different periods of the growing season, thus allowing for the development of wine-quality forecasting tools. Results could aid in the evaluation of operations concerning the analysis and forecasting of wine quality.

"The contribution of agrobiomasses, as a source of energy, to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions was confirmed by several studies. Biomass from agriculture represents one of the larger and more diverse sources to exploit and in particular ethanol and diesel have the potential to be a sustainable replacement for fossil fuels, mainly for transport purposes. However, the cultivation of energy crops dedicated to the production of biofuels presents some potential problems, e.g., competitiveness with food crops, water needs, use of fertilizers, etc., and the economic, energy, and environmental convenience of such activity depends on accurate evaluations about the global efficiency of the production system. In this study, the processes related to the cultivation of energy crops were analyzed from an energy and water cost perspective. The crops studied, maize (Zea mais) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus), were identified for their different water requirements and cultivation management, which in turns induces different energy costs. A 50-year climatic series of meteorological data from 19 weather stations scattered in the Tuscany region was used to feed the crop model CropSyst for the simulation of crop production, water requirement, and cultivation techniques. Obtained results were analyzed to define the real costs of energy crop cultivation, depending on energy and water balances. In the energy crop cultivation, the only positive energy balance was obtained with the more efficient system of irrigation whereas all the other cases provided negative balances. Concerning water, the results demonstrated that more than 1.000 liters of water are required for producing 1 liter of bioethanol. As a consequence, the cultivation of energy crops in the reserved areas of the region will almost double the actual water requirement of the agricultural sector in Tuscany."

In Mediterranean area, hillside vineyards are frequently subjected to high soil losses due mainly to improper management techniques which influence the dynamics of nutrients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the “Soil and Water Assessment Tool” (SWAT) performance in predicting nitrogen and phosphorus content in runoff and soil particles transported from experimental fields. Runoff volume and composition was measured during several rainfall events (87), measured from January 2005 to December 2008, in instrumented up-down slope vineyard at the Montepaldi Farm - University of Florence, in Tuscany (Italy). Both harrowed and grassed inter-row management techniques were evaluated. SWAT was tested using a 10 min runoff model to simulate hydrology, then model results were compared with field observations. Notwithstanding the SWAT model overestimates the soil loss and the runoff, the results of this study show good agreement between simulated and measured data both for runoff and soil loss with Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) values, both for harrowed and grassed plots higher 0.89. Moreover the SWAT model performed satisfactorily in simulating daily nitrogen and phosphorus losses, both on grassed and harrowed plots, with a NSE higher than 0.92 both for the calibration period and validation period.

A stable, conservative variable is needed to describe the level of water-deficit stress to which grape- vines are subjected. In agronomic crops, a function based on the amount of transpirable water stored in the soil has been found to provide such stable functions. This initial study examined whether this approach could be used to describe the response of transpiration rate and leaf area development rate in grapevines. The soil in which four- year-old grafpevines (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Sangiovese) were growing was allowed to dry over several days. Both tran- spiration rate, which is assumed to be proportional to the gas exchange capability of the plant, and leaf area de- velopment rate did not decrease until the fraction of the transpirable soil water (FTSW) declined to about 0.35. Below 0.35 FTSW there was a continuous decline in each process utnil they were zero at FTSW=0. The overall behavior of the plants to the drying soil was well described by logistic equations based on FTSW.

Agricultural systems are largely dependent on weather and climate, then management and planning decisions are made in condition of risk or uncertainty due to the high level of complexity of the agricultural systems. Despite the important advances in technology over the last decades, many production factors are not well defined and they are outside of the farmer control (Orlandini and Cappugi 2001). The lack of precise information increases the level of uncertainty in farm management. To overcome these problems, farmers increased the level of energy and chemical inputs above the necessary requirements with the aim of decreasing the impacts of the variability of agricultural systems. Unfortunately, the consequence of this strategy was the increasing of environmental impact and production costs without obtaining the expected goal (Travis et al. 1992). A solution to interrupt this negative trend is to substitute expensive and pollutant chemical and energy inputs with elaborated information of high quality. In this way it is possible to decrease the risk of the uncertainties of decision making and thus to minimise the application of excessive inputs and increase the potential income (Maracchi 2001).

Existing heat&ndash, health warning systems focus on warning vulnerable groups in order to reduce mortality. However, human health and performance are affected at much lower environmental heat strain levels than those directly associated with higher mortality. Moreover, workers are at elevated health risks when exposed to prolonged heat. This study describes the multilingual &ldquo, HEAT-SHIELD occupational warning system&rdquo, platform (https://heatshield.zonalab.it/) operating for Europe and developed within the framework of the HEAT-SHIELD project. This system is based on probabilistic medium-range forecasts calibrated on approximately 1800 meteorological stations in Europe and provides the ensemble forecast of the daily maximum heat stress. The platform provides a non-customized output represented by a map showing the weekly maximum probability of exceeding a specific heat stress condition, for each of the four upcoming weeks. Customized output allows the forecast of the personalized local heat-stress-risk based on workers&rsquo, physical, clothing and behavioral characteristics and the work environment (outdoors in the sun or shade), also taking into account heat acclimatization. Personal daily heat stress risk levels and behavioral suggestions (hydration and work breaks recommended) to be taken into consideration in the short term (5 days) are provided together with long-term heat risk forecasts (up to 46 days), all which are useful for planning work activities. The HEAT-SHIELD platform provides adaptation strategies for &ldquo, managing&rdquo, the impact of global warming.

Per raggiungere il risultato produttivo più elevato attraverso il percorso più sostenibile, l’agronomo moderno deve possedere sia un quadro chiaro delle componenti biotiche e abiotiche dell’agroecosistema e delle loro interazioni, sia un’adeguata conoscenza delle agrotecniche per intervenire su di esse. Il presente capitolo illustra gli interventi diretti ad assicurare all’agroecosistema la sua componente biotica più importante: la popolazione di piante che costituiscono la coltura agraria. In questo contesto, gli obiettivi di apprendimento riguardano la conoscenza delle modalità di riproduzione e di propagazione delle piante, dell’addomesticamento, delle basi del miglioramento genetico e dell’importanza della scelta varietale. Altri obiettivi riguardano l’apprendimento delle basi legislative e tecniche della costituzione varietale, della tutela e mantenimento della varietà; l’apprendimento delle metodiche di moltiplicazione, di produzione e di commercializzazione delle sementi in ambito nazionale. Il risultato atteso dalla assimilazione del capitolo è la consapevolezza dell’importanza degli interventi sul materiale riproduttivo, oltre alla conoscenza relativa all’ottenimento di varietà migliorate di specie agrarie. È attesa l’acquisizione di nozioni relative alla produzione e commercializzazione delle sementi, al loro trattamento ottimale, e di come il settore sementiero sia organizzato e regolato in Paesi tecnologicamente avanzati. Per affrontare al meglio il presente capitolo sono necessarie conoscenze di base di genetica agraria e di biologia vegetale generale e sistematica. Nella prima e seconda parte del testo le nozioni acquisite relative all’agroecosistema e alle comunità vegetali sono propedeutiche agli interventi sui corpi riproduttori.

Lo studio e la comprensione dell’atmosfera che circonda la Terra, e dei fenomeni che vi avvengono, è imprescindibile dallo studio dell’agronomia, così come è impossibile ignorare l’effetto delle condizioni meteorologiche sulla vita delle piante e sul successo dell’agricoltura. Per molti secoli le relazioni tra agricoltura e tempo meteorologico sono state descritte e tramandate in modo tradizionale, mentre adesso questo strumento non è più valido, poiché il clima sta cambiando in maniera piuttosto rapida. Al termine dello studio di questo capitolo lo studente conoscerà le basi del funzionamento del clima, le principali grandezze meteorologiche e agrometeorologiche, le interazioni degli organismi vegetali con l’ambiente circostante, sarà in grado di effettuare le misure e le elaborazioni dei dati meteoclimatici e di stimare l’evapotraspirazione delle principali colture. Sarà inoltre in grado di raccogliere, interpretare e comunicare dati e informazioni per formulare giudizi autonomi e riflessioni sulle attuali problematiche ambientali e del cambiamento climatico. I contenuti di questo capitolo sono conoscenze di base. Sono richieste competenze di matematica e di scienze, in particolare chimica e fisica.

La mappatura delle rese produttive associata all’analisi del terreno rappresenta uno strumento fondamentale per la definizione delle potenzialità produttive di un appezzamento e per la sua suddivisione in aree omogenee. L’obiettivo è la gestione sito-specifica delle operazioni colturali per una maggior efficienza produttiva e contemporanea riduzione del’impatto ambientale, in un quadro di Precision Farming. Nel presente lavoro si è inteso delineare aree omogenee, per potenziale produttivo e caratteristiche del terreno, al cui interno si possa prevedere una specifica e uniforme applicazione di input colturali. In un campo sperimentale di 4.15 ha condotto con colture avvicendate presso la Cooperativa Agrisfera (Ravenna) è stata individuata una griglia di 1728 m², suddivisa in 24 blocchi sperimentali, al cui interno sono stati rilevati i principali parametri fisico-chimici del suolo. Una serie storica delle mappe produttive (2011-2014) ottenuta con il software Farmworks® (Trimble Ltd) e i dati di analisi del terreno sono stati implementati con il software ArcGIS® (Esri) e sottoposti ad analisi geostatistica per valutare l’andamento della variabilità spaziale. L’applicazione della cluster analysis ai dati di produzione e ai parametri del suolo ha consentito la definizione di aree omogenee in relazione alla variabilità spaziale e stabilità nel tempo delle caratteristiche misurate.

Biomassa di switchgrass è stata sottoposta a tredici pretrattamenti: dodici combinazioni di steam explosion (SE) da sola e dopo impregnazione con Ca(OH)2 allo 0,4% e 0,7%, a 195 e 205 °C per 5, 10 e 15 minuti, a confronto con SE preceduta da H2SO4 (0.2% a195 °C per 10 minuti), come catalizzatore acido di riferimento. La frazione solida dei quattro pretrattamenti caratterizzati dalla maggior produzione di glucosio in un test collaterale di idrolisi enzimatica, è stata soggetta a simultanea saccarificazione e fermentazione (SSF); le corrispondenti frazioni liquide a digestione anaerobica (DA). La SE da sola ha determinato una modesta rimozione della lignina (12%), a differenza dell’impregnazione con 0.7% di Ca(OH)2 (35%). L’aggiunta di Ca(OH)2 a SE in condizioni blande (0.4% a 195 °C) ha incrementato la produzione di etanolo di seconda generazione in SSF (+28%), mentre l’H2SO4 ha notevolmente aumentato la produzione di metano in AD (+110%). La bassa concentrazione di Ca(OH)2 si è dimostrata anche meno aggressiva per il residuo solido dopo SSF, assicurando una maggior resa energetica per unità di biomassa iniziale, oltre a riduzione del fabbisogno idrico in SSF, eliminazione di composti tossici negli effluenti di processo e possibilità di recupero della Ca(OH)2 come CaCO3 tramite carbonatazione.

Valutazione degli effetti di due livelli di umidità del terreno (H e L, 70 e 30% dell’acqua disponibile) e di tre epoche di raccolta (90, 118 e 151 giorni dalla semina) sulla produzione di bioetanolo di prima (EtOH1G) e seconda generazione (EtOH2G) in genotipo di sorgo zuccherino (Sucros 506) e da fibra (Biomass 133) allevati in serra. Valutazione dell’efficienza d’uso dell’acqua (WUE) su produzione di biomassa, succo estratto, EtOH1G, EtOH2G, EtOH1G+2G. L’umidità del terreno ha influenzato significativamente la quantità di biomassa, succo e bagassa residua (in media +44% per H), e conseguentemente le quantità di EtOH1G, EtOH2G, EtOH1G+2G e le rispettive WUE. L’epoca di raccolta ha influenzato la quantità di biomassa e succo. Modeste variazioni fra le componenti della bagassa (cellulosa, emicellulosa, lignina). La concentrazione di EtOH2G è diminuita da 90 a 151 giorni (-13%), indicando una più facile idrolisi della cellulosa in piante relativamente giovani. Viceversa, la produzione di EtOH1G+2G è aumentata nettamente da 90 a 151 giorni (+68%), grazie alla maggiore quantità di biomassa, succo e bagassa. Il genotipo zuccherino è risultato effettivamente più idoneo a produzione di EtOH1G+2G (+22%) malgrado produzione di biomassa del tutto analoga al genotipo da fibra, grazie a una maggior produzione di EtOH1G.