Contact/s:
Elena Bortolazzo
e.bortolazzo@crpa.it
Marco Giacomoni
Mapping Adaptation and Mitigation Measures on European Arboriculture for Fruit Farms: Insights from the Climate Farm Demo Network
Europe
All
Arboriculture for fruit
Adaptation and mitigation measures
Thematic Areas
Production System/s
Summary for Practicioners on the Main Finding(s)/Innovative solution(s)
Fruit tree cultivation accounts for 8% of the Climate Farm Demo (CFD) network, spread across 11 of the 26 participating countries. Greece, Italy and
Portugal have the highest proportion of fruit tree farms within the CFD network. These farms mainly produce olives, pears, apples, nuts and peaches.
A total of 52 different adaptation and mitigation measures have been included in the adaptation and mitigation plans (AMPs).
Fruit farms within the network often opt for measures aimed at protecting and improving the soil, reducing external inputs and managing heat stress.
Soil management and fertilisation are the most common categories of measures implemented. These include practices aimed at improving soil organic matter and soil structure, such as incorporating crop residues into the soil and adding organic matter.
There are also measures relating to tillage, including reducing tillage depth (0–15 cm instead of 15–30 cm/ha) and reducing the frequency of tillage. Input management measures include reducing the use of synthetic nitrogen and NPK fertilisers, alongside the use of recycled fertilisers as a more sustainable alternative.
Finally, some farms apply white clay to perennial crops, a practice typically used to reduce heat and pest stress.
Farmers are encouraged to use these findings as a starting point for evaluating solutions suited to their own context.
Advisory services could incorporate these suggestions into their consultancy services to assess, on a case-by-case basis, how to improve farm efficiency.
As is the case in other production systems, the choice of measures is closely linked to the intrinsic characteristics of the local production system, which results in a non-uniform geographical distribution of the measures.
Summary for Practicioners in Native Language
L’arboricoltura da frutto rappresenta l’8% della rete Climate Farm Demo (CFD), distribuita in 11 dei 26 paesi partecipanti. Grecia (37%), Italia (30%) e Portogallo (12%) detengono la quota maggiore di aziende frutticole arboree all’interno della rete CFD. Queste aziende producono principalmente olive, pere, mele, frutta secca e pesche.
Nei piani di adattamento e mitigazione (AMP) sono state incluse 52 diverse misure di adattamento e mitigazione.
Le aziende frutticole che fanno parte della rete scelgono spesso misure volte a proteggere e migliorare il suolo, a ridurre gli input esterni e a gestire lo stress termico.
La gestione del suolo e la concimazione sono le categorie più rappresentative delle misure attuate. Queste comprendono pratiche volte a migliorare la materia organica e la struttura del suolo, quali l’incorporazione dei residui colturali nel terreno, l’aggiunta di materia organica.
Sono presenti anche misure relative alla lavorazione del terreno, tra cui la riduzione della profondità di lavorazione (0–15 cm anziché 15–30 cm/ha) e la riduzione della frequenza di lavorazione. Le misure di gestione degli input comprendono la riduzione dei fertilizzanti azotati sintetici e NPK, insieme all’uso di fertilizzanti riciclati come alternativa più sostenibile.
Infine, alcune aziende agricole applicano argilla bianca alle colture perenni, una pratica tipicamente utilizzata per ridurre lo stress da calore e da parassiti.
Gli agricoltori sono incoraggiati a utilizzare questi risultati come punto di partenza per la valutazione di soluzioni adatte al proprio contesto. Gli advisor potrebbero integrare questi suggerimenti nei servizi di consulenza per valutare, caso per caso, come migliorare l’efficienza dell’azienda.
Così come accade negli altri sistemi produttivi, la scelta delle misure è strettamente legata alle caratteristiche intrinseche del sistema produttivo del territorio, il che comporta una distribuzione geografica non uniforme delle misure.
Additional Information
As for other production systems, the selection of measures is closely linked to the intrinsic characteristics of each country’s production system, resulting in a non-uniform geographical distribution of measures. Greek farms mainly adopt soil management measures (non-exported cover crops, reduced tillage depth and frequency) together with reduced use of synthetic nitrogen and NPK fertilisers. Italian farms similarly prioritise soil management, notably crop residue incorporation, organic matter addition, and inter-row green manure, alongside recycled fertiliser use and white clay application on perennial crops. Portuguese farms show a broader mix of
strategies spanning production/land-use change (diversification, hedge planting), crop rotation (species and variety diversification), water management (adjusted irrigation), and precision agriculture (GPS-based fertiliser spreading).
The description provided with this practice abstract captures the interests and needs of the farmers. It is useful to guide stakeholders to identify priorities for attention, resource allocation, and future research.
The complete analysis of the measures for the arable crops sector will be available in Climate Farm Demo Deliverable 2.1.