Angela Calvo

Energy and CO2 analysis of poplar and maize crops for biomass production in north Italy

The rising price of fossil fuel and the increasing environmental concern encourage the use of biomasses as energy sources. Aim of this study was to compare two poplar SRC and vSRC (6 and 3 years rotation cycle) with an annual crop (maize), used for biomass production in north Italy.

Variability of tomato in protected environment in response to meteorological parameters

Sanna F., Deboli R., Calvo A. (2018): Variability of tomato in protected environment in response to meteorological pa rameters. Plant Soil Environ., 64: 247–254. An experimental site for the measurement of meteorological parameters in protected environment and the evaluation of the tomato cultivar variability is presented in this paper. The site was equipped with cultivation structures with different covering materials and calibrated sensors traceable to the International System of Units. The microclimate conditions were monitored by sensors for solar radiation (from 290 nm to 2800 nm), air temperature (from –10°C to 40°C) and relative humidity (from 10% RH to 98% RH) inside and outside the tunnels. Specific procedures were used to calibrate the instruments. The following aspects were evaluated: microclimate and solar radiation within different cultivations; morphological observations of the tomatoes in response to the different environments; optical and radiometric properties of the films used as covering material. High temperatures recorded (over 40°C) changed the transmissive feature of the films and consequently affected the growth, anthesis, leaf area index and fruit setting of tomatoes.

Alpine home gardens in the Western Italian Alps: the role of gender on the local agro-biodiversity and its management

ABSTRACT Home gardens are reservoirs of biodiversity, promoting food security and maintaining farm ecosystem processes. A study on alpine home gardens was conducted in two valleys in Piedmont, north-western Italy. Forty semi-structured interviews with garden managers were gathered. We analysed if gender roles affect the agro-biodiversity and the management of home gardens in the Western Italian Alps. The results show that mixed couples (consisting of men and women) present higher diversity of management practices and a higher number of taxa detected: 138 taxa were detected and out of that 138 taxa were found among mixed couples, 82 among male gardeners and 69 among female gardeners. Indeed, when vegetable gardens are managed by men only, more than half of the taxa are represented by horticultural species. On the other hand, when vegetable gardens are managed by women only, flowering species, wild and semi-wild species representing a relevant percentage of the total number of mentioned taxa. Despite most of the literature emphasising the role of women in biodiversity conservation and traditional ecological knowledge keeping, this study seeks to demonstrate that the joint presence of men and women appears to increase the levels of biodiversity and diversity in management practices within alpine home gardens.

A Methodology for the Vulnerability Analysis of the Climate Change in the Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Goal of the vulnerability research of the last years is to evaluate which community, region, or nation is more vulnerable in terms of its sensitive to damaging effects of extreme meteorological events like floods or droughts. Ethiopia is a country where it is possible to find the described conditions. Aim of this work was to develop an integrated system of early warning and response, whereas neither landmark data nor vulnerability drought analysis existed in the country. Specifically, a vulnerability index and a capacity to react index of the population of three Woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia were determined and analysed. Input data concerned rainfall, water availability, physical land characteristics, agricultural and livestock dimensions, as well as population and socio-economic indices. Data were collected during a specific NGO project and thanks to a field research funded by the University of Torino. Results were analysed and specific maps were drawn. The mapping of the vulnerability indices revealed that the more isolated Woreda with less communication roads and with less water sources presented the worst data almost on all its territory. Despite not bad vulnerability indices in the other two Woredas, however, population here still encountered difficulty to adapt to sudden climatic changes, as revealed by the other index of capacity to reaction. Beyond the interpretation of each parameter, a more complete reading key was possible using the SPI (Standardized Precipitation Index) beside these indicators. In a normalized scale between 0 and 1, in this study the calculated annual SPI index was 0.83: the area is therefore considerably exposed to the drought risk, caused by an high intensity and frequency of rainfall lack.

Hand-held olive beaters: Analysis of the upper limb disorders and hand-arm vibration risks

Hand-held Olive Beaters: Analysis of the Upper Limb Disorders and Hand-arm Vibration Risks Angela Calvo, Elio Romano, Giampaolo Schillaci, Christian Preti, Roberto Deboli a DISAFA (Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences and Technologies), Largo P.Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Turin, Italy b CREA-ING. Unità di Ricerca per l’Ingegneria Agraria, Via Milano 43, 24047 Treviglio, Bergamo, Italy] c Di3A (Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente Sezione Meccanica e Meccanizzazione) Università degli Studi di Catania, Via Santa Sofia 100, 95123 Catania. d IMAMOTER Institute for Agricultural and Earth-moving Machines of C.N.R (Italian National Research Council), Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135 Turin, Italy giampaolo.schillaci@unict.it