Monitoring and modeling farmland productivity along the
Venice coastland, Italy
R. Deiana, G. Cassiani
Dept. Geosciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
G. Manoli, P. Teatini
Dept. of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
S. Bonetti, M. Marani
Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
E. Scudiero, F. Morari
Dept. Environmental Agronomy, University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy
P. J. Binning
Environmental, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Lyngby, Denmark
M. Putti
Dept. of Mathematics, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
ABSTRACT
The southern portion of the Venice coastland is a very precarious environment and salt contamination of land and
groundwater is a severe problem that is seriously impacting the farmland productivity. Geophysical surveys, lab
testing and continuous monitoring of hydrological parameters together with crop yield distribution were performed
and acquired from 2010 to 2012 in a 21 ha basin cultivated with maize crop and representative of the area. The
dataset is here used to set-up a numerical model of soil moisture dynamics coupled with plant transpiration,
photosynthesis and growth. The hydraulic model is linked to the atmosphere by the calculation of the stomatal
conductance which is optimized for maximum carbon gain. The model is applied to the field site to understand the
impact of land elevation, soil heterogeneities, and seawater contamination on land productivity.
