SustainFARM
Innovative and sustainable intensification of integrated food and non-food systems to develop climate-resilient agro-ecosystems in Europe and beyond (ERA-NET-FACCE-SURPLUS (INIA))
SustainFARM will investigate the economic and environmental performance of the range of locally relevant IFNS across several agri-climatic zones of Europe and design innovative IFNS systems, which are resilient and climate-smart.
To improve the cost-effectiveness, different means of valorising the residual and co-products (woody components and residual wet olive cake etc.)and for multiple uses (bedding material, compost, bioenergy etc.), will be demonstrated at two SME facilities in UK and Italy and the knowledge generated will be shared through the stakeholder platforms.
Value chains and life cycle analysis of the new bio-products (torrified pellets, bio-energy and food supplements etc.) will be carried out to assess the environmental footprint of the valorization processes.
General objectives
The main objective of SustainFARM is to enhance agronomic, environmental and economic performance of integrated food and non food production systems (IFNS) by optimizing productivity and valorizing woody components, residual wastes and co-products.
IFNS are systems in which trees, crops and livestock components are integrated in different ways at different scales (plot-field-farm).
OLIVE-MIRACLE
ModellIng solutions for improved and Resilient mAnagement strategies for Olive tree against future CLimatE change (ERA-NET-FACCE SURPLUS (INIA))
Over the centuries, olive trees have played an important role as one of the major sources of income and employment in Mediterranean relatively poor rain fed areas. In addition to their agro-economic value, olive cropping systems contributed – when correctly managed – to the preservation of natural resources through the maintenance of soil and the reduction of rainfall’s losses. Olive tree agro-ecosystem is therefore of enormous ecological and economic importance for most Mediterranean countries.
During the last decades, the olive farming industry is experiencing an intensification process that carried along some radical changes in its thousands-year-old agronomic practices. These are moving from low-input traditional plantation to intensified traditional plantation and highly mechanized system.
This process led to the first environmental risk caused by intensification: excessive use of water resource. The current forecasts of climate change will likely worsen this picture, and in a way that is difficult to address quantitatively
The aim of this project is to provide accurate tools to test the effectiveness of adaptation/mitigation management strategies to support long-term investment decision making on olive-tree cultivation across the Mediterranean under current and future climate. A central point will be the harmonization between farmers’ and sustainable ecosystems objectives, coupling olive tree cultivation profitability with the capacity of providing environmental services, to be reached by purposely-developed simulation tools to support decision-making
Advanced modelling approaches will be used to integrate available physiological knowledge into existing and well established modelling platforms, to assess climate change impact and evaluate mitigation/adaptation strategies by tuning agro-management factors. The analysis will be based on a consistent set of data layers, including weather, soils, and current agro-management information, and it will be conducted against present and short to mid-term future scenarios of climate change. A participatory approach with stakeholders engagement will be exploited through a reiterative process to identify/validate sustainable and economic viable olive tree management practices.
Project outputs will improve olive tree crop modelling by extending model predictive ability to capture olive crop behaviour under a wider range of conditions. This improved capability will be beneficial to properly define olive farming design and the relevant management practices, which aim at optimizing the performances of the agro-ecosystem in terms of improved positive externalities and reduced the negative ones.
When applied in a global change context, the proposed framework will be a valid benchmark on which testing the impact of adaptation strategies on both farmers income and ecosystem services providing stakeholders with knowledge input to refine or re-orient breeding programs, and design field operating machinery.
General objectives
The project is focused on the following objectives:
- Increase the accuracy of process-based olive tree model to predict olive yields in response to higher temperature and [CO2]
- Explore scenarios of olives production, in relation to various agromanagement options and presence of biotic/abiotic stressors
- Evaluate quality of products and by-products under climatic scenarios
- Develop adaptation techniques in accordance with stakeholders
- Optimization of agronomic design.
Role of the University of Cordoba
UCO participation in this project will consist in:
- Calibrating the OliveCan model over the different olive grove typologies and cultivars in Europe
- Conducting simulations aimed to explore the olive farming performance under actual and future climate conditions
- Evaluating the capacity of olive farming to respond to the changing environment
- Establishing the required management options to improve and guarantee the capacity of olive growing industry to supply oil, but also byproducts and other environmental services.
Climagri
Best agricultural practices for climate change: Integrating strategies for mitigation and adaptation (LIFE13 ENV/ES/000541)
This project aims contribute to the adaptation of field irrigation crops to climate change at the same time as mitigating the effects of this phenomenon.
The contribution is through the design and implementation of agronomic management systems based on the combined use of Best Managment Practices the effectiveness of which in the mitigation of climate change and the adaptation of crops to the effects thereof has been verified on an experimental level.
The management system will be implemented on a pilot scale on a demonstration farm and on small demonstration plots in the South of Spain, and on a global scale in a European Network of Demonstration Farms located in Portugal, Greece, Spain and Italy.We invite you to find out more about the project’s goals, the work to be carried out, the Network of Demonstration Farms on which the work is to take place and the results expected within the framework of the project.
General objectives
- To demonstrate the viability of management systems based on the integration of measures for the mitigation of climate change and the adaptation of irrigation crops thereto in the Mediterranean Basin.
- To verify the impact on a global scale of the combined mitigation-adaptation strategies adopted through the creation of a European Network of Demonstration Farms (ENDF).
- To establish an action protocol that, based on the mitigation-adaptation strategies identified, will allow technical recommendations to be given for the adoption thereof and allow the implementation thereof to be monitored, additionally serving to check the implementation of agro-environmental measures and other programmes in relation to climate change.
- To disseminate and transfer the experience gained and the management philosophy to other areas with similar characteristics, boosting the communication channels between research, administration and farmers and technicians,
WABA
Wastewater bioremediation using Algae-Bacteria consortia for rural Area (ERANETMED2-72-300/PCIN2017-039)
The Water bioremediation using Algae-Bacteria consortia for rural Areas project, WABA project principal goal is to develop an alternative eco-friendly and sustainable wastewater treatment process for rural areas based on a microalgae- bacteria consortium.
The potential of microalgae for bioremediation of wastewater has recently received considerable interest. Compared to physical and chemical treatment processes, algae based treatment can potentially achieve nutrient removal in a less expensive and ecologically safer way with the added benefits of resource recovery and recycling. However, no study has analyzed the energetic benefits and techno-economic limitations of this concept in the context of Euro- Mediterranean rural areas.
Bacteria-algae consortia can enjoy most of metabolic features of both components, and are potentially economically sustainable, thanks to their capacity to operate with minimal natural inputs such as sunlight, atmospheric CO2 and nutrients from wastewaters. Thus, this system can be energetically efficient, and ecologically friendly.
The project will study the relationship between algae and bacteria to understand how we can improve this partnership and maximize non-energy intensive treatments of rural wastewater, combined with the production of algae-based agronomical useful products.
General objectives
The WABA Project aims to investigate different aspects related to the development of new processes for bioremediation of wastewater in rural areas and the production of useful agronomical product by:
- investigating the growth potential of different algae-bacteria consortiums
- optimizing wastewater treatment through the use of novel systems
- valorizing the biomass produced as potential plant biofertilizer
- evaluation of the new bioremediation process by comparison with existing conventional processes
- analysis of the socioeconomic impact of this new process in rural areas.
Role of the University of Cordoba
The UCO is in charge of the Ecophysiological study of algae-bacteria consortia.
Our objective is to investigate new consortium (artificial and originating from wastewater) and evaluate their impact on the bioremediation of the major pollutants (C, N, P and other xenobiotics) and optimize their growth condition to produce useful biomass.
Investigador Principal: Alexandra Dubini
Correo electrónico de contacto: alexandra.dubini@uco.es
UNREDE
Understanding Non-Photochemical Quenching Regulation in a Dynamic Environment (H2020-MSCA-IF-2016-GF-751039)
Life on Earth relies on photosynthesis that converts water and carbon dioxide into organic molecules using absorbed light by chlorophylls bound to light harvesting complexes (LHC). During evolution, LHC have maximized the capability to capture light energy, allowing organisms to grow even in very low light environments. However, during nutrient deprivation or under high light conditions, when light absorption exceeds the capacity for carbon dioxide fixation, the excess absorbed energy can elicit the generation of reactive oxygen species that cause severe oxidative damage. Photosynthetic organisms have developed mechanisms of non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) that alleviate this photo-oxidative stress in the timescale of seconds to minutes.
This NPQ is critical to protect the integrity of the photosynthetic apparatus, allowing the organisms to survive in a dynamic light and nutrient environment. In algae, LHCSR (LHC Stress Related) proteins catalyze NPQ, but their specific role and regulation are poorly understood. For this project, I will use the model organism Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in which two LHCSR proteins have been identified. My main goals will be (1) to characterize components involved in NPQ under conditions experienced in nature, where light intensities vary and nutrient conditions (C, N and S) are suboptimal, and (2) to explore regulatory circuits and signaling molecules that impact NPQ.
The experimental approaches involve characterization of novel mutant strains unable to properly trigger NPQ, transcriptomic analysis to elucidate the effect of NPQ deficit on global gene expression and pharmacological approaches to explore the impact of different signaling
molecules in NPQ. Understanding NPQ is essential to predict how photosynthetic organisms will behave with changes in atmospheric dioxide fixation levels, temperature and nutrient availability, but will also impact strategies for improving photosynthetic efficiency and tolerance to harsh conditions.
General objectives
- Expression in different light and nutrient conditions of genes encoding proteins that function in NPQ.
- Characterization of mutants affected in proteins implicated in NPQ.
- Functional characterization of LHCSR1.
- Identification of novel proteins and signaling molecules that regulate NPQ.
Role of the University of Cordoba
- Role of NO, ROS and Ca2+ in NPQ regulation.
- Different mutants available in the return laboratory (e.g. nitrate reductase) will be used.
- Writing of additional manuscripts, consideration of aspects requiring further experimentation.
- Establishment of future collaborations between the groups on the continued analyses of the mutants.
Supervisor: Emilio Fernández Reyes e-mail: bb1feree@uco.es
Investigador Principal: Emanuel Sanz-Luque e-mail: q92salue@uco.es
Página web del proyecto: https://dpb.carnegiescience.edu/
SUPER-G
Developing SUStainable PERmanent Grassland systems and policies (H2020-SFS-774124- Super-G)
The existence and management of permanent grasslands (PG) is key to the delivery of multiple ecosystem services (ES) across Europe. However, PG maintenance and functions are under threat from sub-optimal management of inputs, cultivation in higher output farming systems and abandonment in remote and marginal areas. The overall objective of the SUPER-G project is to co-develop sustainable PG systems and policies with farmers and policy makers that will be effective in optimising productivity, whilst supporting biodiversity and delivering a number of other ES.
SUPER-G will apply a multi-actor approach, working with farmers; land owners/managers and their advisers; third sector and civil society groups; non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and researchers, policy and business communities to achieve:
- better understanding of the importance and functioning of PG .
- benchmarking of PG performance across Europe.
- codevelopment of integrated approaches for profitable and sustainable PG management.
- co-development of tools and policy mechanisms, which are inclusive of stakeholder and citizen priorities, to support the maintenance and sustainable management of PG.
The project will last five years to allow time for the establishment of farm networks for data gathering and analysis; and the development of good grassland practices, innovative techniques and farm-level and policy support tools
Using a responsible research and innovation (RRI) approach, the project will develop a comprehensive European grassland typology and a shared conceptual model of how PG can deliver in terms of productivity, biodiversity and other ES such as climate regulation, water quality, mediation of water flows and erosion control.
The potential of PG to deliver multiple ES will be informed by benchmarking and testing, involving a network of farms and experimental platforms in 14 countries covering the Mediterranean, Atlantic, Continental, Alpine, Pannonian and Boreal regions.
General objectives
The SUPER-G proposal has the following detailed objectives:
- Use an ecosystem approach to co-develop sustainable PG systems that are cost-effective and easily managed by farmers and land managers; and policy options that deliver ES for policy makers.
- Improve understanding of the distribution and state of PG in Europe, the impact of maintaining or increasing the PG area and the challenges associated with doing so.
- Develop a grassland typology that covers the range of grassland systems in Europe and allows comparison of ES delivery between contrasting regions and PG systems.
- Analyse the main farming systems managing PG to improve farm organisation and promote ES delivery.
- Develop robust and meaningful agri-environment indicators for ES delivery by grassland-based systems.
- Gather data and information to benchmark and model the ability of PG to deliver farm productivity, profitability and key ES within a selection of biogeographic regions.
- Improve understanding of trade-offs and synergies associated with the management of PG for ES delivery in a range of contexts and scenarios
- Clarify the benefits PG provides for society and generate policy options that are either tailored to or robust across multiple PG contexts to deliver the range of ES.
- Develop farm-level and policy decision support tools for the management of PG to enhance the productivity and profitability of grazing livestock farms (and/or other innovative uses and markets for grassland products) and the delivery of ES to society.
- Provide clear guidance to farmers/advisers and policy makers for optimal PG management, taking into account contrasting priorities for ES delivery in different regions/farming systems, but also impacts of management options and system approaches on local rural communities.
Role of the University of Cordoba
The University of Cordoba is in charge of the Work Programmes 2, 3 , 4 and 6.
Investigador Principal: Tom Vanwalleghem
Correo electrónico de contacto: tom.vanwalleghem@uco.es
Página web del proyecto: https://www.super-g.eu/
SUDOANG
Promoting the sustainable management of eels within Sudoe area (INTERREG-SOE2/P5/E0617-SUDOANG)
Due to environmental and economic factors as well as the lack of coordination between the agents involved in its conservation, the European eel is currently in danger of extinction. SUDOAND proposes a solution based on scientific evidence to provide accurate information about the eel population and its evolution.
Through a web application and a governance platform, SUDOAND ensures greater coordination between the different actors in the sector as well as the development of more effective management models.
General objectives
To provide tools and joint methods that support the conservation of the european anguilla and its habitat to managers in the Sudoe area
To provide joint evaluation and management tools for european eel and its habitat to the agents of the sudoe area : Within the countries, and even the regions of the SUDOE area, there is a wide variety of methods to estimate the key indicators for the monitoring of the eel population: ranging from coarse extrapolations with reference values from other places, to widely accepted models by the scientific community.
Thus, it is necessary to provide the managers of the SUDOE area with tools that reinforce their capacity to make decisions based on greater scientific evidence and in an agreed manner. It will allow finding a balance between the conservation of this emblematic species itself and its ecosystems with the fishery and other water uses.
To design a strategy in order to obtain data for a long-term and coordinated monitorining of the population of anguilla in the Sudoe area: To carry out the evaluation of the population, analyze the effectiveness of the implemented measures and calibrate the estimates produced by the models, it is necessary to know key parameters related to the species and its habitat.
However, 1) in certain basins of the SUDOE area there are knowledge gaps about the species that hinder the management and conservation of the species; 2) in the absence of common protocols, the information collected is not comparable; and 3) it is costly to obtain these parameters from an economic and sampling effort point of view.
Therefore, it is necessary to design a strategy that allows the key parameters for the monitoring of eel in the Sudoe area to be collected in a coordinated and harmonized manner, with a reasonable economic cost and making sure that the follow-up is done in the long term.
To strengthen the cooperation of the agents involved in the governance of eel and its habitat in the Sudoe area: The complex biological cycle of European eel and its wide distribution causes the managers to be of different levels (e.g. national, regional and local) as well as of different sectors (e.g. public authorities and governmental bodies, organizations involved in the protection of the sea and water ecosystems, conservation of biodiversity and ecological restoration; scientific community, industrial sector or end-users).
Due to this, European eel management is not carried out in a concerted manner in the SUDOE area. Thus, it is necessary to improve the dialogue, the cooperation and the capitalization of knowledge and experiences to promote the conservation of European eel and its habitats, making it compatible with long-term exploitation of the species and guarantying the maintenance of employment and modes of life and cultures related to European eel fishery.
Role of the University of Cordoba
- Atlas of distribution of the European eel
- Recruitment model
- European eel governance platform
- The silver eel biomass estimation model
- European eel monitoring network in the area
- Action plan for awareness and good practices
Investigador Principal: Carlos Fernández Delgado
Correo electrónico de contacto: ba1fedec@uco.es
Página web del proyecto: www.sudoang.eu
sHui
Soil Hydrology research platform underpinning innovation to manage water scarcity in European and Chinese cropping systems (H2020-SFS-773903-Shui)
SHui is conceived as a network integrating long-term experiments of its 19 academic and SME partners across different environmental conditions and cropping systems in the EU and China. It provides a platform for research on soil-water resources management under water scarce conditions, to better understand the linkages between agricultural soil hydrology and sustainability and for a systematic assessment of adaptation and mitigation methods.
It will develop and implement new strategies to increase water use efficiency and yield, based on sustainable intensification through integrated use of soil and water across different spatial scales. At farm level, this includes digital agriculture solutions integrating in situ and remote sensors and simulation models to exploit an improved understanding of the relationship between crop yield variability and soil hydraulic properties, optimizing circular approaches to re-use water and using waste water sources.
At regional scales, the aggregation of biophysical and socioeconomic variables in dynamic models will evaluate the impact of different policy strategies, to support decision makers to evaluate different scenarios of land-use dynamics, economic context and current and future climate in EU and China, including assessments of water and carbon footprint. Training a cohort of early career scientists in soil conservation and water-saving practices, SHui’s legacy will extend beyond the project duration.
General objectives
Benchmark existing, and emerging, cropping practices, in terms of crop yields, economic returns and key agro-ecosystem services.
Identify “win-win” interventions over short- and long-term periods for both farmers and society in cooperation with different stakeholders, and to develop and disseminate best management strategies at different spatial and temporal scales.
Determine the impacts of these interventions at larger scales on future crop yields and other agro-ecosystem services by testing two hypotheses aimed at sustainable intensification through optimum water use. Specifically:
a). In rainfed agriculture, increased resilience to severe droughts and extreme rainfalls events can be achieved by introducing new technologies that allow heterogeneous management of the landscape, by cooperation among different stakeholders and changing farmer attitudes to innovation.
b). In irrigated agriculture, optimal use of the limited available water (including rainfall and recycled water), can increase growers’ net profits and receive support from society relative to current practices.
Role of the University of Cordoba
- To improve, calibrate and validate the AquaCrop model to: 1) simulate crop yield response to variable water supply in the different SHui environments; 2) integrate soil physical properties and soil fertility to more realistically simulate actual crop performance; 3) capture the impact of different management strategies on water limited productivity; and, 4) link with SHui hydrologic models to scale point simulations up to farm and regional analyses of crop responses to water scarcity.
- To develop a hybrid-type model to simulate yield responses of tree crops to variable water supply.
- Calibrating current generation of selected mathematical models at plot and field scale for soil-water interaction and processes, hydrological balance, soil degradation and water quality description.
- Performing large catchment analyses including crop yield scenarios using conceptual upscaling based on GIS platform. 5- Coordinating exploratory analyses of fully coupled hydrologic and crop models that link variability of soil properties (related to water availability) to yield at field scale.
Investigador Principal: Elías Fereres Castiel
Correo electrónico de contacto: opi@uco.es
Página web del proyecto:https://www.shui-eu.org/
Prodehesa Montado
PROYECTO DE COOPERACIÓN TRANSFRONTERIZA PARA LA VALORIZACIÓN DE LA DEHESA-MONTADO (INTERREG-POCTEP 0276_PRODEHESA_MONTADO_6_E)
The dehesa/ montado, a transboundary agrosilvopastoral ecosystem without comparation in Europe, is in a serious crisis. It is also a very important tool, thanks to its services and products, in order to mitigate the climate change and the reduction of erosion in Europe. The purpose of this Project is to promote necessary actions to value the dehesa both environmentally and economically from a sustainable point of view, through the creation of stable cooperation structures that promote the investment of companies in innovation, the development of synergies between companies (60,000), R+D and innovation centers, technology transfer, public service applications and the demand for dehesa´s products
General objectives
The purpose of this Project is to promote necessary actions to value the dehesa both environmentally and economically from a sustainable point of view, through the creation of stable cooperation structures that promote the investment of companies in innovation, the development of synergies between companies (60,000), R+D and innovation centers, technology transfer, public service applications and the demand for dehesa´s products.
Investigador Principal: Vicente Rodríguez Estévez
Correo electrónico de contacto: pa2roesv@uco.es
Página web del proyecto: http://prodehesamontado.eu
OK-Net EcoFeed
Organic Knowledge Network on Monogastric Animal Feed (H2020-RUR-CSA-773911)
OK-Net EcoFeed (link is external) is funded within the EU Horizon 2020 program, started in January 2018 and runs for 3 years until December 2020. The project has 19 partners covering 11 European countries. The consortium includes multiple actors including feed processors and mills, farmers and farmer’s organizations, research institutes, universities and advisory agencies.
100% use of organic and regional feed for monogastrics
General objectives
The project will synthesize the scientific and practical knowledge available about organic and regional feed production for monogastrics.
It will create a European network of innovation groups to facilitate exchange and co-creation of knowledge among farmers, business actors, researchers and advisors.
It will collect end-user material and develop new tools adapted to the needs of farmers and business actors. All material and tools will be summarized in the EIP common format for practice abstracts.
Finally, the project will extend the OK-Net knowledge platform (farmknowledge.org) to include the topic of monogastric animal feed.
Role of the University of Cordoba
• Co-ordinate and facilitate the interaction and exchange between the national and regional practitioner’s innovation groups (IG) and international thematic groups (TG).
• Develop a framework that facilitates structured data collection and comparison on the experiences around organic feed for monogastrics based on practitioner’s tacit knowledge.
• Test innovative end-user material, tools and innovations; and understand reasons for acceptance and successful implementation. • Promote the project and its outcomes via the innovation groups at regional and national levels.
Investigador Principal: Vicente Rodríguez Estévez
Correo electrónico de contacto: pa2roesv@uco.es
Página web del proyecto: https://ok-net-ecofeed.eu