Walter Stefanoni

Italian National Research Council | CNR · Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems

Fine roots are an important component of forest soil as they play a key role in fundamental processes like plant nutrition and water supply. As with all the features of forest soil, the compaction related to the forest operations and, in particular, to the wood extraction via ground-based technologies could lead to a significant impact on the prese...

Exploiting renewable energy sources is one of the main strategies defined by the EU to overcome dependence on foreign markets for energy supply. Wood fuel sourced from the agroforestry sector can contribute significantly to achieving the goal, though its economic and environmental sustainability is intimately dependent on proper harvesting and chip...

Typically, coniferous sawdust from debarked stems is used to make pellets. Given the high lignin content, which ensures strong binding and high calorific values, this feedstock provides the best quality available. However, finding alternative feedstocks for pellet production is crucial if small-scale pellet production is to be developed and used to...

Firewood extraction by mule forwarding is still common in oak coppices in Central and Southern Italy. This is due to the scarce presence of aerial extraction systems such as cable yarders. Considering the importance of forest soil for all ecosystem services, the evaluation of the disturbance that a given extraction system has on the forest soil is...

Future European strategies to reduce dependence on foreign markets for energy supply and energy production will rely on the further exploitation of the primary sector. Lignocellulosic feedstock for bioenergy production is a valuable candidate, and dedicated crops such as giant reed (Arundo donax L.), miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus), reed canary...

Beech (Fagus spp.) is one of the most common tree species in Europe and Western Asia. The implementation of sustainable forest Operations (SFOs) in beech forests is therefore crucial in terms of sustainable forest management. This review summarises the state of the art concerning time-motion studies carried out in beech forests, defining the work p...

This study took place in a mixed deciduous forest located in Northern Iran to investigate the effects of two types of silvicultural methods, specifically the single‐selection method and the group selection method. The study also included the observation of skid trails in terms of runoff, sediment yield, and the loss of NO3‐N, and PO4‐P. The process...

There has been a growing awareness of the need for sustainable forest management among forest engineers during the last decades. The selection of the best harvesting system for logging operations plays a fundamental role in this effort. Nowadays, in the decision-making process, forest engineers rely on their own experience, and it is to be expected...

In the Mediterranean area, the most common management of beech forests relies on the shelterwood system. However, more effort has been put into developing alternative silvicultural treatments to enhance the forests’ capacity to provide the higher ecosystem services. The crop-tree management system seems to perform well, particularly under the econo...

The growing concern for environmental issues has underlined the need to promote sustain�able consumption and production. Taking into consideration the three pillars of sustainability, honey should be seen as an important food from a sustainability perspective. Among honey varieties, the eucalyptus one is becoming increasingly popular with people fo...

Inulin is accumulated as a reserve carbohydrate in the roots and tubers of many plants belonging to the Asteraceae family. At present, most of the inulin for nutraceutical purposes is produced from Jerusalem artichoke ( Helianthus tuberosus L.) and Chicory ( Cichorium intybus L.), and cardoon is proved to synthetize and store a high quantity of inu...

Castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) is a promising industrial crop suitable for cultivation in marginal conditions in the Mediterranean area, but the mechanical harvesting of the seeds is still usually performed manually. In this manuscript, the authors present a preliminary test to assess the effectiveness of equipping a combine harvester with a sun...

Considering the increasing need to produce energy from renewable sources, the interest towards Medium Rotation Coppices (MRC) plantations has increased. One of the main issues that require tackling for the comprehensive sustainability of these plantations is related to the development of sustainable harvesting systems. Indeed, as a consequence of t...

This study represents the first attempt of integration, within a Forest Management Plan (FMP), of a Geographic Information System (GIS) and an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach for the selection of the most suitable logging method. It is important to underline that the developed methodology is applicable worldwide in each environmental cont...

Considering that forests are crucial in the ecosystem of our planet and that forests provide timber products as well as several ecosystem services, it is evident that the application of sustainable forest operations (SFOs) is of substantial importance to achieve sustainable forest management (SFM). One of the most important issues to be evaluated w...

This paper focused on eggs enriched with omega-3-fatty acids with the aim of understanding if functional eggs were of interest to Italian consumers, and analyzing which characteristics of table egg quality, consumers' attitudes and socio-demographic characteristics affect the consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) a premium price for eggs enriched wit...

The potential to use Subsurface Water Retention Systems (SWRSs) to combat desertification and improve agriculture in arid and semiarid areas has already been investigated and proved promising. Nevertheless, a lack of specific machinery has prevented this technology from demonstrating its effectiveness on vast areas. In the present study, a specific...

Castor is a candidate crop that grows in marginal lands in the Mediterranean area. It can be grown by utilizing minimal resources to provide unique industrial chemicals or to serve as an energy crop. However, it can be also cultivated with intensive inputs providing higher yields. Whether a high input or a low input scheme is more sustainable depen...

Castor is a crop with an evergreen habit so artificially-induced ripening is an essential precondition for mechanical harvesting of new dwarf annual hybrids. Plants’ moisture imposes a determinant effect both on pre-harvest and post-harvest seed loss, so frequent monitoring of crop ripening is crucial for identifying the optimum moisture for harves...

After many decades when its cultivation was prohibited, hemp is regaining its position as one of the most versatile cultivated crops. Multiplication of monoecious hemp varieties requires manual male plants rouging to keep a high share of monoecious plants in the population. It forces relatively small multiplication fields usually oscillating around...

The contribution of castor oil for reaching the targets set by RED1 and RED2 in Europe can be tangible if the problem related to the mechanical harvesting is overcome. Dwarf hybrids suitable for mechanical harvesting are already available on the market but the residual moisture of plants and capsules has to be lowered in order to allow mechanizatio...

Opuntia ficus indica is a source of vitamins and minerals, and recently, it has been used as ingredient to make a new functional pasta. Italy produces the highest amount of pasta in the world and it is also the second-highest producer of opuntia globally. This study sought to identify the consumer willingness to pay for pasta featuring Opuntia ficu...

Olive pruning could represent an important biomass resource for energy production considering that over 2600 Gg of dry matter represent the annual amount of biomass that could be obtained from olive groves just in Italy. Different experiences of pruning harvesting are reported in literature, especially related to shredders towed by tractors while l...

Coffee is one of the most valuable primary products in the world trade and its consumption causes the production of a lot of waste. The coffee grounds remain today a major focus to study, particularly for bioenergy purposes. Since it is possible to use coffee waste in many ways at level demand, it is also important to investigate the coffee waste a...

Turkey oak is one of the most common wooden species in Central and Southern Italy. Turkey oak coppices are mostly utilized for firewood production, since the characteristics of wood are not suitable for timber production. In the last years, the increasing labor costs are making more and more difficult to utilize turkey oak coppices. The solution ca...

The increasing need in renewable energy production is fostering the utilization of Italian artificial coniferous stands for wood chips production. On the one hand, such interventions are crucial for the development of the forest stand, however, the low economic value of wood chips not often guarantees a positive stumpage value. According to this iu...

Among the species cultivated for industrial vegetable oil production, castor could be a good crop for future investments due to the good resistance to pests, tolerance to drought, and suitability for marginal lands cultivation. The paper presents results of the environmental impact assessment and economic feasibility of the production of castor oil...

Climate change is strongly affecting agriculture worldwide. In Mediterranean zone one of the most challenging issue is related to water deficit as a consequence of climate change. In particular, in Mediterranean Countries, we are facing a higher number of extreme rain events during winter and, on the other hand, a much more lasting and stronger dro...

This work has been developed under the AGROinLOG Project, "Demonstration of innovative integrated biomass logistics centres for the Agro-industry sector in Europe". An Integrated Biomass Logistics Center (IBLC), is based on the introduction of new production chains into existing agro-industries by using new biomass feedstock. The AGROinLOG Project...

In Italy a large part of mountainous territory is characterized by high slope. Forest operations in such steep areas requires the usage of aerial extraction systems. Cable yarder is the most applied extraction system, but it is not the unique in this category. Another possible solution is the application of helicopters for logging activities (i.e....

Thinning interventions are crucial for the correct growth of chestnut coppices. Such intervention generally does not allow for the extraction of high value timber, but it generally produces only low diameter poles and fuelwood. According to this, improving work productivity is fundamental to ensure economic effectiveness of this sylvicultural treat...

European Union is strongly encouraging renewable energy production from biomass, and forests show a major role in this context. Italian Alps zone is one of the few that, in Italy, presents wide application of aerial extraction systems, like cable yarder. Proper analysis of work productivity and costs of such kind of harvesting system could be the s...

The increasing demand for sustainable food and non-food biomass production is challenging farmers all over the world, particularly in those areas where are short in water supply. Besides, the constant spreading of desertification in the Mediterranean region makes cropping even more difficult. In fact, the main problem related to desertification is...

Proper planning of forest operations is crucial to get sustainable forest management. Considering that forest sector is one of the major producers of biomass, this aspect has a strong influence on the overall sustainability of biomass supply chain. In the last years the shift towards the precision forestry has been recognized as a powerful tool to...

Opuntia ficus-indica is a source of minerals and vitamins and has recently been used as ingredient to make a new functional variety of pasta. Italy was the first country in the world to produce pasta and is also the second largest producer of Opuntia in the world. According to an Italian sample, this study considers the main factors that could infl...

Industries currently rely on chicory and Jerusalem artichoke for inulin extraction but also cardoon is proved to synthetize and store high quantity of inulin in roots as well. Cardoon is a multipurpose crop, well adapted to marginal lands, whose main residues at the end of cropping cycle consist of roots. However, cardoon roots are a suitable sourc...

Dedicated energy crops can play a key role in providing substantial amounts of lignocellulosic feedstocks equired for the second-generation biofuel production chain as well as heat and electricity production (JRC EC, 2011). Giant reed (Arundo donax L.) has already been recognized as a high yielding, stress tolerant crop suited to marginal lands and...

Short and medium rotation coppice (SRC and MRC) have been identified as an interesting solid biomass resource at global level. The production of large amount of biomass in limited time is no longer complicated thanks to modern machine technology, but the concentrated availability of wood fuel often does not go in line with the demand for energy in...

Increasing aridity and subsequent water scarcity are currently among the major problems of agriculture. Rainwater harvesting could represent a way to tackle this issue, and, as a consequence, scientific research has been more and more focused on such topic. On the other hand, few scientific studies related to economic and environmental assessment o...

The growing demand in food and non-food industries for camelina oil is driving the interest of farmers and contractors in investing in such feedstock. Nonetheless, the cost, performance and critical aspects related to the harvesting stage are still not properly investigated. In the present study, an ad-hoc test was performed in Spain in order to fu...

Cardoon seeds have been proved to thrive in the Mediterranean region, even under low input management and its biomass is suitable for several food and industrial uses. Despite that, a proper value chain has not been set properly and uncertainty still lays among producers and industries, particularly concerning the harvesting stage. The present stud...

Camelina is a low input crop than can be cultivated in rotation with cereals to provide vegetable oil suitable for bioenergy production, industrial applications and even as source of food for livestock. At large scale farming, camelina seeds are currently harvested using a combine harvester, equipped with a cereal header, but the literature still l...

Among the species currently cultivated for industrial vegetable oil production, castor could be a good candidate for future investments due to the good resistance to pests, tolerance to drought, and suitability for marginal lands cultivation. In addition, the production of castor oil from Ricinus generates a large quantity of press cake, husks, and...

The sustainable production of renewable energy is a key topic on the European community's agenda in the next decades. The use of residuals from agriculture could not be enough to meet the growing demand for energy, and the contribution of vegetable oil to biodiesel production may be important. Moreover, vegetable oil can surrogate petroleum product...

Reducing potential soil damage due to the passing of forest machinery is a key issue in sustainable forest management. Limiting soil compaction has a significant positive impact on forest soil. With this in mind, the aim of this work was the application of precision forestry tools, namely the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Geographic...

Pruning’s residues could be an important source for renewable energy production. However their use for this aim is actually hindered by various fences mainly linked to the lacking in harvesting phases and to the absence of a sustainable logistic chain for energy production. Considering this the AGROinLOG (Demonstration of innovative integrated biom...

The valorization of agricultural residues plays a fundamental role in renewable energy production. Particularly, the management of olive orchards in Lazio region generates a considerable amount of biomass that is currently unexploited, but it could represent a valid source of solid biofuel for energy production in the Lazio region (Italy). Using a...

The growing population worldwide will create the demand for higher cereal production, in order to meet the food need of both humans and animals in the future. Consequently, the quantity of crop by-products produced by cereal cropping will increase accordingly, providing a good opportunity for fostering the development of the sustainable supply chai...

Forest and agricultural biomass are important sources of renewable and sustainable fuel for energy production. Their increasing consumption is mainly related to the increase in global energy demand and fossil fuel prices but also to the limited availability of petroleum and the lower environmental impact of these biomass compared with other non-ren...

The collection of residues from staple crop cultivation may contribute to meet the EU regulations in renewable energy production without reducing soil quality. At European and global scale, the chaff is estimated in 23 Mt yr-1 and 116 Mt yr-1, respectively. However, chaff is not usually collected, and its loss can consist of up to one fifth of the...

In cereal crops, chaff is a valuable lignocellulosic by-product that accounts for more than 50 Mt y−1 in Europe and is suitable for bioenergy purposes. Chaff is usually not collected due to the lack of combine harvesters that have the capability to handle it properly. The present two years experimental study investigated the hypothesis that the ove...

Plant cultivation in large-scale closed environments is challenging and several key technologies necessary for space-based plant production are not yet space-qualified or remain in early stages of development. The EDEN ISS project foresees development and demonstration of higher plant cultivation technologies, suitable for future deployment on the...