The University of Tuscia of Viterbo is about to complete an advanced high-resolution technology deriving from remote sensing data which, integrated with company data, will give answers on the positive impacts of Carbon Farming practices for the climate.
Here following our interview with University of Tuscia experts.
Who are you and what role do you play within your organization?
The UNITUS staff involved in this Action is mainly composed of Associate Professors from the University and technical staff with expertise in the forestry and environmental fields mainly in GIS (Geographic Information Systems) but also in soil science.
What activities do you carry out in your daily work?
The daily activities we carry out are different, including both lectures to students, writing of scientific articles and project proposals, such as the one that led to the present LIFE C-FARMs project. Furthermore, during the summer period, we carry out various data collection campaigns in forest and agricultural fields.
How does the GIS-FARMs creation proceed?
The GIS-FARMs tool is nearing completion. We are now working to include the data that will derive from the previous project Actions to that of our competence, but the main structure of the GIS FARMs tool is practically ready!
Are there any critical issues that you have registered so far in the work for this action?
No particular critical issues were found in this Action. The main difficulty concerned the retrieval of specific data related to the impact of carbon farming practices for the area of interest and the choice of information layers to be included in the GIS_FARMs tool. In particular, the chosen information layers had to be available at a European level, so as to allow, by replacing them, an application of the tool in any European Country or Region.
Is the currently available high-resolution geospatial database sufficient for the implementation of the activity?
Yes, the current Geospatial database is more than sufficient to allow simulations at the Regional level. At the level of individual companies, it will be necessary to include even more detailed data which hopefully will be provided by the Lombardy Region.
In your opinion, can this activity be easily implemented for other Italian regions?
Absolutely yes. After the creation of the main structure of the GIS FARMs tool, it would be sufficient to replace the information layers currently present with those of the simulation area. In general, the tool has been designed in order to be applied in each European Union Member State . The choice of information layers was made in accordance with the available products at European level. In case of Regions and/or Nations we have layers of greater detail.
What are the next steps in this action?
The inclusion of data from other project actions, which will take place when these actions will be concluded.In parallel, we will collect more detailed data directly from some pilot companies, in order to carry out more accurate simulations, working on a company scale.
