Periodic Reporting for period 2 - GROWING (Geophysical Roots Observation for Water savING in arboriculture, viticulture and agronomy)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2022-01-01 do 2022-12-31
GROWING is a project dealing with the use of minimally invasive methods for roots monitoring, with the specific aim of improving water use in arboriculture, viticulture and agronomy. The aim of GROWING is to develop our capability of understanding, through measuring and modeling, the actions of the root system on water state and fluxes in the soil-plant-atmosphere system. This is particularly critical in areas of water scarcity, such as the Mediterranean region.
GROWING is based upon three scientific pillars: (a) an advanced plant root phenotyping technology using geophysical methods, overcoming current limitation in imaging roots under field working conditions; (b) a coupled above and below-ground monitoring using geophysical, plant physiology and atmospheric measurements and (c) a data assimilation scheme that uses the data above to construct a hydrogeophysical model of water distribution in soil and exchanges with the atmosphere.
The ground breaking nature of GROWING lies in the pooling of human, technical, and data resources, in order to better understand the hydric stress and roots response under a range of soil and agricultural practices. The scientific developments above foster the design of new tools with the ambition to transfer innovative knowledge to stakeholders, farmers, and winemakers in particular.
GROWING is based upon three scientific pillars: (a) an advanced plant root phenotyping technology using geophysical methods, overcoming current limitation in imaging roots under field working conditions; (b) a coupled above and below-ground monitoring using geophysical, plant physiology and atmospheric measurements and (c) a data assimilation scheme that uses the data above to construct a hydrogeophysical model of water distribution in soil and exchanges with the atmosphere.
The ground breaking nature of GROWING lies in the pooling of human, technical, and data resources, in order to better understand the hydric stress and roots response under a range of soil and agricultural practices. The scientific developments above foster the design of new tools with the ambition to transfer innovative knowledge to stakeholders, farmers, and winemakers in particular.
The project started on January 1st, 2020. I worked in Italy in the department of Geosciences (UNIPD) until March 19th. During that time, I followed the proposal and developed WP0 and WP1 to deliver D4.1 and D1.1 to D1.3. Very few data were collected for D1.1 due to difficulty growing plants in the rhizotron, and no progress was achieved for D2.1. I participated in one widely attended conference in January 2020.
From month 3 to 6, COVID-19 caused limited access to laboratory facilities. For WP1, we focused on D1.3 making more progress than expected. I wrote 2 literature review articles during this time.
From months 6 to 9, we discussed milestone 1 and extended the time for D1.1 and D2.1. I trained a new post-doc at UNIPD to collect the necessary data. I established the first version of the DMP and prepared articles for D4.1 and D1.3. I also contributed as a co-editor to a special issue on agrogeophysics.
From month 9 to 12, we collaborated remotely with LBL for WP2 and supervised experimental activities by the new post-doc. I organized a workshop and convened a session on open geophysics.
From month 13 to 16, we retargeted WP3 to be done remotely. I contacted Professor M. Putti to implement it using current datasets. I participated in EGU and EAGE conferences and attended MSCA webinars.
From month 16 to 22, I bought new equipment for the lab experiment extension in WP2. I got 2 accepted papers as a co-author and obtained preliminary results from WP3 modeling. I contributed to the community by reviewing papers, maintaining the Catalogue of Agrogeophysical (CAGS), and participating in the Biogeophysics for Climate Resilient Viticulture group. I conducted a laboratory experiment on Partial Root Zone drying.
From month 22 to 24, I started employee training at Berkeley Lab. I got one accepted article as the first author. I resumed data collection for WP2 and D1.1 during a partial root zone drying experiment. I applied WP3 algorithms to long-term data collected by Berkeley Lab.
From month 24 to 28, I had regular meetings to monitor WP3 progress. I had abstracts accepted for oral presentations and articles in preparation. I was involved in the Noble project and engaged in community activities as a reviewer and organizer.
From months 29 to 32, I implemented deliverables related to transfer and communication. I contributed to experimental work and wrote articles.
From months 33 to 36, I extended the scope of WP2 by collaborating with CSIC-ICA Madrid. I initiated the organization of a workshop called the "CATHY days" and transferred knowledge to a PhD student. I gave a talk at the CEIGRAM laboratory and participated in science outreach projects.
From months 37 to 41, I wrote grant proposals and applied for professorship qualification. I contributed to peer-reviewed articles and presented at conferences. I participated in a science at school project and built a website for project results dissemination.
From month 3 to 6, COVID-19 caused limited access to laboratory facilities. For WP1, we focused on D1.3 making more progress than expected. I wrote 2 literature review articles during this time.
From months 6 to 9, we discussed milestone 1 and extended the time for D1.1 and D2.1. I trained a new post-doc at UNIPD to collect the necessary data. I established the first version of the DMP and prepared articles for D4.1 and D1.3. I also contributed as a co-editor to a special issue on agrogeophysics.
From month 9 to 12, we collaborated remotely with LBL for WP2 and supervised experimental activities by the new post-doc. I organized a workshop and convened a session on open geophysics.
From month 13 to 16, we retargeted WP3 to be done remotely. I contacted Professor M. Putti to implement it using current datasets. I participated in EGU and EAGE conferences and attended MSCA webinars.
From month 16 to 22, I bought new equipment for the lab experiment extension in WP2. I got 2 accepted papers as a co-author and obtained preliminary results from WP3 modeling. I contributed to the community by reviewing papers, maintaining the Catalogue of Agrogeophysical (CAGS), and participating in the Biogeophysics for Climate Resilient Viticulture group. I conducted a laboratory experiment on Partial Root Zone drying.
From month 22 to 24, I started employee training at Berkeley Lab. I got one accepted article as the first author. I resumed data collection for WP2 and D1.1 during a partial root zone drying experiment. I applied WP3 algorithms to long-term data collected by Berkeley Lab.
From month 24 to 28, I had regular meetings to monitor WP3 progress. I had abstracts accepted for oral presentations and articles in preparation. I was involved in the Noble project and engaged in community activities as a reviewer and organizer.
From months 29 to 32, I implemented deliverables related to transfer and communication. I contributed to experimental work and wrote articles.
From months 33 to 36, I extended the scope of WP2 by collaborating with CSIC-ICA Madrid. I initiated the organization of a workshop called the "CATHY days" and transferred knowledge to a PhD student. I gave a talk at the CEIGRAM laboratory and participated in science outreach projects.
From months 37 to 41, I wrote grant proposals and applied for professorship qualification. I contributed to peer-reviewed articles and presented at conferences. I participated in a science at school project and built a website for project results dissemination.
So far, the scientific developments above fostered two main contributions beyond the state of the art:
(i) A platform putting together a database/catalog of agrogeophysical surveys in order to promote FAIR practicies and boost future research in agrogeophysics (https://agrogeophy.github.io/catalog/). This platform which has been presented during seminar and conferences is now in the process of being adopted at the research level. During the remaining year, the platform will serve to showcase the rise of Agrogeophysics and how it can conquers new territories especially at the community level.
(ii) New processing tools of plant root phenotyping with the ambition to transfer innovative knowledge to stakeholders, farmers, and winemakers in particular. Two new open-source codes are published and overcome the past limitation on interpreting the data collected from traditional methods. Additionally, the developed geophysical algorithms are coupled with hydrological modelling which is intended to provide better proxies such as soil saturation and RWU rates for stakeholders agricultural management.
The remaining task until the end of the project is an advanced plant root phenotyping technology using geophysical methods. Based on laboratory measurements, we expect to give new insights on how to export the Partial Root Zone Drying strategy in the field.
All the above development have been discussed during e-meeting with FruitionSciences private company (located in France and USA) and with P. Gosset, a winemaker located in France. This led to formulate the remaining questions/issues before application of such methods in real field conditions. During the last year, I expect to increasingly work with winemakers and stakeholders in particular by publishing technical notes in dedicated journals and showcasing the developed tools and methods.
(i) A platform putting together a database/catalog of agrogeophysical surveys in order to promote FAIR practicies and boost future research in agrogeophysics (https://agrogeophy.github.io/catalog/). This platform which has been presented during seminar and conferences is now in the process of being adopted at the research level. During the remaining year, the platform will serve to showcase the rise of Agrogeophysics and how it can conquers new territories especially at the community level.
(ii) New processing tools of plant root phenotyping with the ambition to transfer innovative knowledge to stakeholders, farmers, and winemakers in particular. Two new open-source codes are published and overcome the past limitation on interpreting the data collected from traditional methods. Additionally, the developed geophysical algorithms are coupled with hydrological modelling which is intended to provide better proxies such as soil saturation and RWU rates for stakeholders agricultural management.
The remaining task until the end of the project is an advanced plant root phenotyping technology using geophysical methods. Based on laboratory measurements, we expect to give new insights on how to export the Partial Root Zone Drying strategy in the field.
All the above development have been discussed during e-meeting with FruitionSciences private company (located in France and USA) and with P. Gosset, a winemaker located in France. This led to formulate the remaining questions/issues before application of such methods in real field conditions. During the last year, I expect to increasingly work with winemakers and stakeholders in particular by publishing technical notes in dedicated journals and showcasing the developed tools and methods.