Soil-plant-climate models

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Soil-plant-climate models

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Anno accademico 2009/2010

Codice dell'attività didattica

AGR0172

Docenti

Eleonora BONIFACIO
Prof. Giorgio BORREANI (Affidamento)
Luisella Roberta CELI (Affidamento)
Dott. Claudio LOVISOLO (Affidamento)
Dott. Dario SACCO (Affidamento)

Corso di studi

[f001-c210/1.1] laurea spec. in a.e. curr. a.g.t. - orient. sustainable farming systems

Anno

1° anno

Tipologia

D - A scelta dello studente

Crediti/Valenza

12 CFU

SSD dell'attività didattica

AGR/13 - chimica agraria

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Obiettivi formativi

The course aims at improving the knowledge on plant ecophysiology, pedology, carbon and nitrogen dynamics and on agrometeorology. The students will integrate the knowledge acquired in the application of simulation models of plant growth and crop production in the field.

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Risultati dell'apprendimento attesi

At the end end of the course the student will
1) be able to evaluate the relationships between plant ecophysiology and inputs from both environment and agriculture practices, upon both cultivation standards and abiotic limiting conditions.
2) know the fundamental relationships between soil development and its properties using the main systems of soil classification.
3) have a deeper knowledge of soil chemical properties with particular emphasis to organic matter dynamics, evolution, and nutrient cycle.
4) have information about soil hydrological processes and agrometeorological parameters used in simulation models.
5) know the main structure of some cropping system models and will be able to apply them to case studies on intensive cropping systems.

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Programma

Pedology: Introduction to pedology. The soil profile: description and assessment of soil horizons. Morphological properties. The soil forming factors: parent material, organisms, relief, climate and time.Pedogenic processes, with special emphasis on temperate environment.The major systems of soil classification. The diagnostic horizons and the diagnostic properties.The structure of the WRB and of USDA Soil Taxonomy. Soil mapping: soil maps and secondary maps, land mapping units. How to read soil maps, land capacity and land suitability maps.How to use soil classification systems and soil maps to estimate soil properties. Case studies

Soil hydrology: theoretical aspects of water dynamics into the soil. Practical calculation of water flows into the soil.

Plant ecophysiology: plant water potential, plant transpiration.Plant photosynthesis (carbon assimilation).Plant hydraulic conductance; plant response to water stress (osmoregulation). Plant response to different ranges of solar radiation (light and temperature).

Soil Chemistry: C cycle. Soil organic matter: origin and composition. Soil organic matter decomposition: processes and kinetics. Interaction of organic matter with the mineral phase: effects of aggregation and of types of aggregates on soil organic matter stabilization. Effects of organic matter on soil physical and chemical properties. Linking organic matter decomposition and nutrient availability to climate and agronomic management.

Agrometeorology: Structure of the atmosphere. Composition of the atmosphere, greenhouse gases and aerosol. Solar radiation: physics of radiation, solar irradiance spectrum at top of atmosphere, absorption of radiation by atmosphere, radiation balance. Water in the atmosphere: water vapour, evaporation process, condensation. Water cycle, relative humidity, saturation deficit. The evapotranspiration (ET): evaporation from the soil, transpiration by the crops, aerodynamic and surface resistances. Calculation of ET by Penman-Monteith. Crop coefficients.

Modeling: Introduction to simulation models. Presentation of the CROPSYST cropping system simulation model. Description of the different components in CropSyst: Water, SOM, Nitrogen, Crop, Climate, Management. Application of CropSyst to a case study

Descrizione

Testi consigliati e bibliografia

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Allen R.G., Pereira L.S., Raes D. Smith M., 1998. Crop Evapotranspiration. Guidelines for computing crop water requirements. FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper n. 56. (Available at the Agronomy Library).
Soil Survey Staff, 1999. Soil Taxonomy, A basic system of soil classification for making and interpreting soil surveys. 2nd edition. U.S. Dept. Agric., Natural Resources Conservation Service. Agriculture Handbook 436, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D.C., USA. (available in Internet)
ISSS Working Group RB. 1998.World Reference Base for Soil Resources: Introduction. J.A. Deckers, F.O. Nachtergaele and O.C. Spaargarren (Editors). First Edition. International Soil Science Society (ISSS), International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Acco, Leuven, BE. (available in internet).
Leclerc J-C. Plant Ecophysiology. Science Publishers Inc,, 2003.(available at the Library of Colture Arboree).

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Note

The language of the course is English.
This course is strongly interdisciplinary and is composed by 4 teaching units: Plant ecophysiology (Claudio Lovisolo); Pedology (Eleonora Bonifacio); Soil chemistry (Luisella Celi);
Model for cropping system and Agro-meteorology (Giorgio Borreani and Dario Sacco)

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