The Life-Pastoralp project was illustrated in a conference in Noasca 4 years ago. Use advanced technologies such as ultra-high definition digital cameras
NOASCA. Satellite photographs and field surveys are the basis of the mapping of the mountain pastures of the Gran Paradiso National Park, carried out within the Life-Pastoralp project which studies the impact of climate change on alpine pastures. To discover and monitor the quality of the mountain prairies, advanced technologies have been used such as Pheno Cams, digital cameras that have acquired every hour images of the vegetation in which you can see the succession of the different seasons, and an artificial intelligence that analyzes satellite images. .
Over 4,500 hectares of pasture mapped by analyzing orthophotos (processed aerial photos), remote sensing data and those collected on site to build the map of alpine pastures throughout the National Park, a database that will soon be available on a web platform.
One million 380 thousand euros invested
This is one of the results of Pastoralp, a project financed with European funds from the Life thematic program for an amount of 380,000 euros, which examines the pastures included in two national parks, the Gran Paradiso and the French Parc National des Ecrins. The project, coordinated by the University of Florence, which will end in March 2022, involves Italian and French partners, such as Arpa Valle d’Aosta, Institut Agricole Régional (Iar), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (Inra) and others. The Life-Pastoralp project was illustrated at a conference held in Noasca in 2018, while a report on the results obtained so far was released in recent days.
Increase the temperatures
In particular, thanks to the data collected, climatic projections have been prepared which predict, in both Parks, an increase in temperature and the risk of drought, the extension of the growing season of the vegetation cover by about two months, the anticipation of the peak. of forage production and a reduction in snow cover. However, climate change is not the main concern of the 43 pasture managers of the Gran Paradiso Park who, interviewed by the researchers, declared themselves much more concerned about the damage caused by wolves and wild boars, due to the lack of access roads to pastures and the oppressive bureaucracy.