Giuliano Vitali

Characterisation of sustainable farming and cropping systems

Hydrologic characterisation of soil

Crop and plant Modeling

Agriculture is pressed from problems as sustainability which in turn is closely related to technological aspects (crop choice, tillages, irrigations, treatments) having strong connectionsto the territory. Understanding farm structure and dynamics of production systems, their relations with environment, market and policies, allow understanding their environmental and economical sustainability.
The topic is currently under investigation to develop tools based on indicators able to compare different management approaches and choices (e.g. organic vs conventional).

Understanding surface and subsurface soilhydrology allows analysingphenomena which are relevant to fertility conservation together with environment and human health. Processes like infiltration, erosion and leaching are to be analysed both from an experimental viewpoint and with computer simulation approaches, and both on a plot scale as much as a basin scale.
The topic is investigated by means of researches oriented to understand soil hydrology of monitored sites under the presence of vegetation cover.

Growth and development of a crop, a plant or a single organ depends on environmental variability: observing a plant to fully describe the dynamics of its exterior characters is fundamental and complementary to other lab investigations, to suggest new growing and breeding strategies and improve production technology.
The topic is investigated by researches oriented to observation and simulation of crops and individual plants.