Main outcomes
The climatic data gathered from both existing and the new weather stations installed by the project, and the estimation of water use efficiency (WUE) achieved by measuring the carbon assimilation either at leaf level or canopy and at the forest level, were used to draft the Water Management Plan.
The Plan will be enriched with the outcomes coming from the estimation of forest evapotranspiration that is currently investigated by the team of Prof. Marcello Vitale (DEB – Sapienza) through direct and indirect methodologies, such as the sap-flow measurements and their upscaling to the forest by evapotranspiration models (e.g. Turc, Penman-Monteith process-based models, energy balance models, etc.). Gas exchange measurements are also carried out at both leaf level and forest level by using CIRAS-2 photosynthesis system (Figure 3 in Annex Action C.5) (see below the section “Synergies, outside complementary actions and perspectives for long-term continuing the action”) and existing models, such as the big-leaf approach and process-based multilayer gas exchange models (e.g. Farquhar and von Caemmerer biochemical model). Two PhD fellows and two M.Sc. students from Sapienza University, under the supervision of Prof. Vitale, are using these tools to conduct the studies for their dissertations on ecological science and environmental restoration that will provide precious additional inputs.
Synergies, outside complementary actions and perspectives for long-term continuing the action.
The Action is strictly linked with Action A.4, which provided data and climate time-series that are crucial for estimating the target woodlands' water needs.
Procedures for purchasing and installing the weather stations were carried out in good cooperation between involved experts from DEB and IMFE. They agreed on the number, typology, rationale and costs, as well as the location where the instruments were placed. For example, taking advantage from the first monitoring visit held in Nestos (10-11 May, 2019), Prof. Vitale from DEB had the opportunity to visit the monitored area and the weather stations and discuss with the Greek colleagues about the common shared meteorological data collection protocol. The weather stations will provide site-based data to continue feeding climate time-series. The weather stations will be maintained active, and the water resources Management Plan applied for a long time (at least 30 years) by ARSIAL and IMFE (see letter of commitment in the project proposal). The monitoring system will be upgraded with other environmental sensors, such as soil humidity gauges or gas exchange measurers for trees, to create an integrated monitoring platform to record additional physiological and physiochemical parameters from the woodland.
For Palo Laziale, some of these analytical instruments will be purchased using external sources of funding, while others have been already made available by ARSIAL, such as the CIRAS-2 photosynthesis system (Figure 4 in Annex Action C.5). The device is used to measure the leaf gas exchange in tree seedlings of the nursery, as well as in the adult trees of Palo Laziale, to improve the knowledge on the metabolism of the trees, their eco-physiological responses to the project's conservation actions, thus to better define the water requirements of the forest ecosystem.
In Nestos, data on the river flows can also be added in relation to the plain's climatic data to better evaluate the water use efficiency of the riparian forest ecosystem. IMFE’s intends to install sap flow system to assess the water status of the dominant species of habitat 91E0, Alnus glutinosa. Sap flow monitoring will allow us to assess the species' water needs in relation to the prevailing climate trends. For this purpose, a sap flow system will be installed on six Alnus glutinosa tree in the wood where the one meteo station has been installed and adjacent to the other meteo station installed on the open field (next to the pond). The cost for this sap flow system is estimated at EUR 10,000 and budget will be transferred from IMFE’s budget for infrastructure foreseen under C.3 action. Finally, thanks to the recent awarding of project NewLife4Drylands (see Action E.6) presented by the LIFE PRIMED management team in partnership with other national and international researcher centres and university (e.g. ISPRA, CNR, CREAF-Spain, University of Crete, etc.), satellite data, such as Sentinel 2 or Modis, will also be used to estimate primary productivity and evapotranspiration of the project areas at the landscape level. All these outcomes will be compared and integrated with the ground data obtained by LIFE PRIMED (top-down approach) to upscale the resolution of the Water Management Plan and to improve the long-term management and maintenance of the concrete actions implemented within the project (e.g. the hydraulic system, Action C.3).
