Modelli per colture da biomassa in terreni marginali

Among renewable energy sources, biomasses derived from non-food or feed sources as energy dedicated crops, agricultural and agro-industrial waste are one of the most interesting solutions in the short and medium term for several reasons: the ability to produce energy in situ or on a short range, the relatively low investments, the opportunity to give an alternative to traditional crops that are unable to withstand the competition of a globalized market, the possibility to storage significant amounts of carbon in the soil, the opportunity to recover marginal and abandoned land by offering new market opportunities to farms avoiding competition with food production. Several energetic crops that are suitable for marginal areas where no food or feed crop can be grown sustainably have been identified during last years. However, the opportunity to exploit marginal areas for biomass production must be evaluated in relation to the particular pedoclimatic conditions and to the economic feasibility, concerning also the positive externalities and environmental impacts resulting from the agricultural activity. Cultivating energy crops on marginal land unsuitable for food production is consistently proposed as a viable alternative to minimize land-use competition for food production, and its adverse effects (direct or indirect) on food security, land based GHG emissions and biodiversity loss. The main aim of this thesis is to provide forecasting tools that can help Mediterranean agriculture to deal with the climate change scenario and extreme climatic events, to identify new exploitable lands for energy production from biomass and energy crops for biorefinery purpose among marginal areas, to define the best management practices, including the choice of the crop species, suitable for these areas, and to quantify the environmental impact of these crops. The aim is achievable by implementing biophysical models to simulate the response of crops under different climatic and environmental conditions and thus to produce a geo-spatial analysis of the results. Two lines of research can be identified within this project 1. agronomic trial to collect data concerning morphology (stem height, leaf area), physiology (net photosynthesis rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance) and biomass yield components of three perennial lignocellulosic grasses (Arundo donax L., Miscanthus x giganteum, Saccharum spontaneum L. spp. Aegyptiacum) under three different soil moisture regimes 2. modellistic study that aims are to provide predictions for biomass and energy crops phenology and production, on marginal scenarios and to define marginal suitable areas and optimized agronomic management practices for biomass and energy crops grown in these areas; two energetic crop have been studied: Ricinus communis L. and Miscanthus x giganteum