Multifunctional Soil Conservation and Land Management through the Development of a Web Based Spatial Decision Supporting System (SoilConsWeb LIFE+ 2008) A new vision in land management and soil conservation Fabio Terribile & Angelo Basile (but we must add 20 other authors) DISSPAPA, Università di Napoli Federico II CNR ISAFoM
In our societies: increasing pressure by human population Increasing demand for food security Increasing demand for a better environment Increasing demand for a more sustainable agriculture Increasing demand to obtain higher income in rural areas Little or no awareness on the importance of landscape & soil Then it is obvious that answering to these demands require better planning, managing and monitoring our landscapes. These issues are even more important considering the evident land and soil degradation processes unevenly spread across landscapes in many countries.
But providing an answer to all these demands with suitable landscape/farm planning & managing can be a very complex issue! Farms
This situation is not better for larger administrative bodies producing decision over the landscape: e.g. counties, cities, districts, regions Income from urbanization fees
Food security European Commission DG Environment set very high objectives! protect, preserve and improve the environment for present and future generations. Adaptation Climate change Guidelines of governance Sustainable productivity Europe 2020 priorities Smart growth Sustainable growth Inclusive growth Economic governance
But why things are complex? We requires answers across different scales (action is often local!) The multifunctional role of soil Data quantity/quality varying in space and time Important processes happening in soils/landscape are not static but dynamic
This applies also to the Soil Functions as evaluated by the Soil Thematic Strategy (EU, COM2006 230,231) 1) Food and other biomass production 2) Storing, filtering and transformation 3) Habitat and gene pool 4) Physical and cultural environment for humankind 5) Source of raw materials Air Biomass Production (e.g. food chain) Human Health Culture Open Water Soil Biodiversity Ground Water Goods and Services provided by Soil W.E.H. Blum, 2004
Some important EU regulations concerning the management of agricultural/forestry and environmental issues. EU regulation/directive and NAP Required answer (Italy) Time Space Rif. ACP System of conditionality Dynamic Varying in the Reg. (EC) 1782/031783/05 landscape Directive 91/676/EC Nitrates Dynamic Varying in the Directive 60/00 EC Water landscape Framework COM 2006/231. Soil Thematic Static/Dynamic Varying in the Strategy and NAP for Italy landscape Directive 80/68/EC Groundwater Dynamic Varying in the against pollution landscape Directive 86/276/EC Sewage sludge Static/Dynamic Varying in the Directive 75/268/EC; Reg. (EC) 1257/99; art.19 reg.(ec) 1698/05 art. 50.3(a) Disadvantaged areas Reg.(EC) 510/06 Reg.(EC) 1898/06 Designations of origin Reg. (EC) 1698/05 Reg. (EC) 1974/06 Rural development in forestland Static Static Dynamic landscape Varying in the landscape Varying in the landscape Varying in the landscape
Things are also complex because farmers/municipalities/other bodies at least should also have on hand :
a large and dynamic environmental database
a group of skillful experts capable to work together and to use this large database to provide a set of simple options for the decision makers to choose not a webgis we believe that all these complex things can happen developing a Spatial DSS integrated with DSM and simulation modelling engines!
SOILCONSWEB www.landconsultingweb.eu Our pilot project SOILCONSWEB (LIFE+)
SOILCONSWEB www.landconsultingweb.eu The project consists of building a web based Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) strongly focused on soil and operating in the field of rural landscape and forestry. University o Naples Agrarian Faculty National Council of Research Campania Region Spin off company
CLIENT SOILCONSWEB www.landconsultingweb.eu SERVER DATABASE System answer Thematic maps : climate data, soil data, etc. Raster and vector format; Users Agricultural managers Local Authorities Policy Makers Query Manage maps, process data, dymamic modelling simulation monitoring network Raw data Contenuti NO3 - (20-35 cm) Kg NO3 - /ha 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 24/5 13/6 3/7 23/7 12/8 1/9 21/9 11/10 31/10 20/11 10/12 30/12 19/1 8/2 28/2 20/3 9/4 29/4 19/5 8/6 28/6 18/7 7/8 27/8 16/9 6/10 26/10 15/11 5/12 25/12 25/ Stimati Misurati Tempo MODELLING The database is constantly updated: i.e. daily spatialized climate data deriving by monitoring network
SOILCONSWEB www.landconsultingweb.eu The system has been implemented and currently it is on testing phase in a pilot area of about 20.000 hectares (Valle Telesina Campania region). DEM Soil map It represents an heterogeneous territory composed by agricultural and forestry systems potentially affected by problems of management and preservation; It is an area suitable for high quality wine and olive oil production (needing support on decisions); Availability of good quality environmental data (soil maps, climate data, etc)
SOILCONSWEB www.landconsultingweb.eu How the system appears? On the fly video
Some conclusions We showed that it is possible to have a (dynamic) SDSS system having some key features : i. based on the concept of soil/landscape multifunctionality; ii.potentially adapted to the need of each end user (action at the local scale); iii. enabling what if modelling. iv. Then we do not to provide solutions but options. v.local communities awareness on soil/landscape conservation/sustainable management; vi.enabling to incorporate bottom up contributions to governance (to be developed by 2014); vii. user friendly (complexity is embedded); P.S. WE ARE LOOKING FOR TWO EUROPEAN SITES FOR TESTING THE TOOL
But all this has a high cost. we (scientists, technical assistants, landscape planners and managers, stakeholders, farmers) must abandon some of our certainties (our approaches) and reschedule part of our work! otherwise we never meet! Needless to say DG ENV if interested - could play a crucial role!
The end