It is the contribution of organic matter to soils today impoverished, one of the new frontiers of research promoted by the National Association of Consortiums for the Management and Protection of Territory and Irrigation Waters, ANBI, of Italy.

At the initiative of the Burana and Emilia Central recovery consortia, a project of European caliber is being carried out in the Apennines of Emilia between the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia and Modena; It is called Life AgriCOlture and involves 15 companies committed to verifying how, through good practices (hydraulic regulation, improvement of forage cultivation and management of organic matter in the livestock sector) it is possible to contain production costs and store carbon dioxide. carbon in the soil, ensuring a more effective defense action of the soil.

“It is an important challenge, which also involves the Toscano-Emiliano Apenino National Park and the Center for Research in Animal Production, in the context of the European ecological transition, in which farms together with citizens, institutions and the world of production must be protagonists. For some time - explains Francesco Vincenzi, president of the National Association of Consortiums for the Management and Protection of Territory and Irrigation Waters (ANBI) - we have been searching for solutions to enrich the earth with organic matter, also useful for rainwater retention; impoverished soils and increasing desertification are evident phenomena in some areas of the country, contributing to the abandonment of agricultural lands. "

The increase of organic matter in the land, through the use of sustainable agronomic techniques, is fundamental not only for fertility, but also for the improvement of the landscape and the hydrogeological protection of the territory; For this reason, the Eastern Veneto Reclamation Consortium, together with the University of Padua, participates in the experimental project TerritoriBio (TerritoriBio (Territories and rural networks for technical and organizational innovations aimed at organic companies) aimed at promoting agriculture 4.0 from the needs identified, both on organic and conventional farms in the Euganean hills and in the Venetian area.

In this context, the potential of cover crops, better known as "cover crops", planted in periods when the land does not host income crops and are useful to increase ecosystem services, promoted by agriculture in the service of 'environment.

The current activity is analyzing the effect of the contribution of different organic matrices and the use of "cover crops" on the water retention capacity of the soil, a fundamental factor in the absorption of excess water. At the same time, water retention increases the water reserve in soils, improving the resistance capacity of crops to periods of low rainfall. The objective of the research is, therefore, to identify new agronomic management systems with evident externalities towards the protection of the territory and the protection of the environment.

"Numbers in hand - says Maurizio Borin, professor at the University of Padua - it is demonstrated how a small increase in organic matter on a planetary scale can have considerable effects in terms of mitigating climate change".

"Projects such as Life AgriCOlture and SOILBANK - concludes Massimo Gargano, General Director of ANBI - bear witness to the concrete commitment of the recovery and irrigation consortia, through research, in the challenge of climate change, crucial for the future of the planet" .