Nature-based Solutions and Hydrological monitoring in vineyards of Oltrepò Pavese (Northern Italy): a framework for land degradation

The actual and projected climate change with extreme weather events can increase in frequency and intensity land degradation phenomena, such as soil erosions and shallow landslides, with consequence to soil and fertility loss as a major threat, and a significant environmental problem for the agroecosystems where farming is executed on sloping soil (e.g. vineyards, olive groves, etc.), thus bringing to a land abandonment.  Another factor to take into consideration in affecting significantly the land degradation, is soil tillage and agricultural practices. If these are uncontrolled or incorrect, they can accelerate the development of land degradation processes. In this framework, it is important and necessary applying in agroecosystems effective solutions for disaster risk reduction (DRR) which, at the same time, help to promote biodiversity by reducing the use of pesticides (or fertilizer) and are economically sustainable for farmers.
The Nature-based Solutions (NbS), as conservative agricultural practices (e.g., agroforestry or cover cropping), are funded by countries or the union of countries, such as the European Union or the United Nations, and can help address all these challenges helping to slow global warming by reducing its risk, frequency, and intensity. However, NbS are little promoted by local governments and applied by farmers, favoring to counter land degradation, gray infrastructure measures that sometimes or often, are only applicable at a small scale, proving ineffective in achieving land degradation neutrality.
The study area corresponds to a sector of Oltrepò Pavese (Northen Italy), an area purely devoted to viticulture where more than 2000 shallow landslides were triggered in the last 15 years, in consequence of intense rainfall events, with a density of distribution which reached more than 40% of the territory cultivated with grapevines. In this area, since 2021, two representative demo farms have been equipped with hydrometeorological monitoring stations, to measure the soil water content every 10 minutes for 90 cm depth. Measurements are taken in correspondence of different NbS as: cover crop types (spontaneous grass cover, cereal-based mixture and legumes-based mixture) and different management techniques (Green manuring, Between-row mulching, Piling of grass under the row).
The aim of this work is to provide a framework of the NbS analyzed in the study, taking into consideration the hydrological monitoring carried out, to observe the differences on soil water content trends in different seasons along the year. The outcomes of this monitoring can reveal different responses in terms of water stress and vulnerability to land degradation processes.
The work is a PNRR-funded PhD project in partnership with seven municipalities, focusing on identifying technically and economically viable NbS for the area. The scientific outcomes will be incorporated into municipal planning and rural police regulations to prevent shallow landslides.