West Systems Srl (Coordinating Beneficiary)
WEST Systems is a company with over 20 years of experience, that operate worldwide on the development of technological innovation and applied research in the field of earth sciences and environmental monitoring. WEST Systems has wide experience carrying out equipments for the study of gas exchange at the soil-atmosphere interface, and its instrumentation is applied in many fields such as volcanology, geothermal exploitation, landfills monitoring, hydrocarbons contaminated sites and hydrocarbons seepage. Moreover, the company is able to develop monitoring systems to solve specific customer problems through a professional staff composed by engineers, geologists, computer scientists and highly skilled technicians, all motivated by enthusiasm and common goals.
During the past years a consulting service has been developed by WEST Systems focused on air quality monitoring and ionizing radiations monitoring to assess the environment pollution. This service is the result of a strong collaboration between researchers and engineers and it is carried out by means of suitable monitoring techniques and advanced treatment of data analysis. The West Systems consultants operate in the contamination field of air, water and soil in order to individuate the pollution source and try to obtain information to involve an environmental reduction policy.
WEST Systems will be the Coordinating Beneficiary and will carry out technical and administrative management of all the project. Moreover WEST Systems will be the responsible of the implementation of the two prototypes.
Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e di Prefezionamento Sant'Anna (Associated Beneficiary)
The Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, founded in 1967, is an autonomous, special-statute Italian University operating in the field of applied sciences, i.e. law, political science, economics and management, medicine, engineering and agriculture.
The LIFE+IPNOA project will be carried out by the researchers of the the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), which competence can be resumed in the following two macro-areas, Biomedical Sciences and Agrobiosciences. The competence available in Agrobiosciences area of the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) for LIFE+IPNOA project include:
• Design, set up and suitability assessment of food and non food cropping and farming systems with low environmental impact;
• Analysis of the impact of agricultural activities for food and no-food cropping systems and chain of production on the environment (water, soil, air, biological resources); Use of simulation models to evaluate the effect of climate change on cropping system performances (e.g. productivity, environmental impact, profitability), and the effects of different cropping systems/crop management systems on the environment (e.g. carbon sequestration, energy budgets, environmental risks).
• Development, fine-tuning and application of indicators, models and Decision Support Systems for sustainable agriculture. GIS and multicriteria implementation of management models and decision support systems to protect the rural landscape from agri-environmental risks.
• Elaboration of conceptual and methodological frameworks to analyze multifunctionality in agriculture and to support the decision-making processes related to agricultural land use and practices.
SSSUP can make full use of and contribute to maintenance of research and experimental facilities at the Centre for Agro-environmental Research ”E. Avanzi” (CIRAA) of the University of Pisa, where several long-term field-scale experiments on low-input and organic management systems are being carried out.
The role of SSSUP in LIFE IPNOA will be:
• Field trail set up and two years monitoring for N2O emissions with the two prototype, developed by West Systems at CIRAA and CATES sites;
• Territorial analysis of N2O mitigation scenarios in Tuscany agriculture;
• Report for policy maker preparation to explain the results of the experimental activities in terms of policy decision instrument.
INRA (Associated Beneficiary)
The Biosphere-Atmosphere Team of the ECG (Joint Research Unit between INRA institut and AgroParisTech School) focuses on the analysis of biosphere-atmosphere exchanges of a range of chemical and biological contaminants with potential impacts on air quality, climate or plant functioning, based on experimental and numerical modelling approaches. Our research spans detailed process analysis at local scale up to their integration into larger-scale models, in collaboration with groups working in atmospheric and climate sciences. Improving our understanding of the fate and impacts of major agricultural inputs (fertiliser N and pesticides) is a key objective, with application of integrated assessments of agro-ecosystem management at local to regional scales.
INRA will be the responsible of the cross-validation activity for the two prototypes.
http://www4.versailles-grignon.inra.fr/egc/
Regione Toscana (Associated Beneficiary)
The Tuscany Region, as well as the other Italian regions, has specific competence for what concerns agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors (Art. 117 of the Constitution). The activities of the Region are carried out through planning and governance tools, such as the PRAF, which achieves the Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development defined in the Regional Development Program (RDP), in agreement with strategies of the Union and national agricultural policy. These instruments also include financial supports for the improvement of the competitiveness of the agro-industrial system, agricultural income and quality productions, conservation e improvement of the rural areas and landscape, biodiversity conservation for sustainable rural development.
The Tuscany Region, in according to AIR (the Act of address on research and innovation), also promotes the competitiveness and sustainability of agriculture and forestry through the research and the transfer of technical innovation, valuing the achieved results in the implementation of regional policies.
The Life + IPNOA project involved a regional technical staff with experience in testing of agricultural techniques compatible with environmental protection and dissemination of strategies for mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
Many of the field experiments planned in the project will be carried out at the (CATES) Centre for Agricultural Technologies and Extension Services in Cesa (AR), which is a structure of the Tuscany Region equipped with tools and qualified professionals in the management of field trials of agricultural systems with low environmental impact.
Within IPNOA project Tuscany Region will be involved in the development of the following actions:
•tests for measuring greenhouse gas emissions in different cropping systems;
•drafting of a Best Practices Manual for reducing emissions of nitrous oxide;
•dissemination activities of good practices to promote limit emissions of greenhouse gases;
•monitoring the adoption of the Best Practices Manual.
The participation of Tuscany Region to the project is aimed at identifying technical information to be transferred in the agricultural sector, for the development of regional policies in agreement with the European strategies, in particular of the Rural Development Plan 2014-2020, for mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
