Living lab site in inner Sicily: cropland ecosystem restoration (02-02, Area B)

WHAT WE OFFER. A site for one of the new living labs to be set up under HORIZON-NATURE-2027-02-02, Area B. There is no living lab at the site today: what we offer is the readiness to build one immediately, with the farmers around it, which is what this topic is designed to fund.

THE SITE. A university farm serving both teaching and research, at Cammarata (Agrigento), in inner Sicily. About 20 ha of farmland, held by the Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences of the University of Palermo under free concession since 1963. Tumarrano valley, 400-450 m a.s.l., hilly, average slope 15%. Meso-Mediterranean climate with a four-month dry season; mean annual rainfall 560 mm, observed range 309-1000 mm. Soils in toposequence from clayey Entisols through vertic Inceptisols to Vertisols. Cereals and grain legumes of the Sicilian semi-arid environment are grown there, and grain legume populations are currently maintained on site.

WHAT WE CAN COMMIT

- Part of the farm. The site is shared with colleagues of the Department, so what can be placed at the disposal of a project is a defined portion, agreed in advance. A letter of support from the Head of Department confirming the availability of the site would be provided with the proposal.

- The people who work there. The farm is run by technical staff and field workers who take an active part in proposing and shaping experimental and demonstration activities, and several of whose households also farm in the same district. This gives the site a working bridge between research and local practice, and the capacity to establish and maintain trials.

- Neighbouring family holdings. Farms adjacent to the site, worked by those same households, have expressed interest in contributing fields and activities. This would give a gradient of management intensity on comparable soils and climate, as requested under Area B, and those farms can be brought in formally through the financial support to third parties foreseen by the topic.

- An existing knowledge-transfer channel. The farm has long served as a pilot farm for growers of Cammarata and neighbouring municipalities, hosting technical visits and student theses, so the relationship with local practitioners does not have to be created from scratch.

SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTION. Soil organic carbon dynamics in cropland mineral soils, which is among the indicators of Article 11 of the Nature Restoration Regulation; cropping system design and carbon input management; cereal and grain legume systems for human consumption; in-situ maintenance of grain legume populations. A social sciences partner from our university can be brought in for the co-design and governance component.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR. To join a consortium as a beneficiary, contributing a living lab site and a work package task.

CONTACT. Mauro Sarno, Associate Professor of Agronomy and Crop Science, University of Palermo.