Dr. George Koubouris from the Greek Institute of Olive Tree, Subtropical Plants and Viticulture (IOSV), Prof. Cristos Xiloyannis , Dipartimento delle Culture Europee e del Mediterraneo of University of Basilicata in Italy (DiCEM), and Dr. George Arampatzis from the Greek Land Reclamation Institute, three of the project partners, attended the 8th International Symposium on Olive Growing, which was held on October10-14, 2016 in Split (Croatia) delivering oral presentations and one poster.
Dr. Koubouris presented the “Potential for Enrichment of Soil with Mineral Nutrients by Recycling Pruning Residue in Olive”. According to his presentation, recycling raw pruning residue and composted olive mill waste improved soil properties compared to an orchard management system consisting of maintaining the soil free of weeds through tillage and herbicides and adding no organic materials. Especially soil organic matter and nitrogen contents increased. Consequently, use of biomass available either on site (pruning residue) or in near olive mills (composted by products), following appropriate phytosanitary control would contribute to the transition from a manufacture based- to a circular economy model with profound economic and environmental benefits. Sustainable agricultural practices such as soil mulching with organic materials can also enhance irrigation water saving through increased rainwater infiltration and reduced soil evaporation.
Prof. Xiloyannis’s presentation “The agro-ecosystemic benefits of sustainable management in an Italian olive grove” showed the overall impact of sustainable olive grove management on carbon cycle and the regulating services flowing from ecosystems. Relevant terrestrial (e.g., phytomass, soil, litter) carbon pools might store atmospheric CO2 contributing to the mitigation of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. The interactions between these pools and the practices adopted by farmers (e.g., tillage, no-tillage, cover crops, recycling or burning of crop residues) are significantly influential on carbon cycle. He pointed out the opportunity to improve current Life Cycle Assessment schemes by including changes in soil organic carbon pool.
In addition, Dr. Arampatzis presented a poster entitled “The effectiveness of soil moisture in the cultivation of olive trees” that is also relevant to the project applications.
Project presentations are available here