The international project ‘BIOMEnext: Modelling next generation integrated Mediterranean farming systems based on biodiversity’ aims to implement innovative, integrated and environmentally friendly cropping systems to improve the resilience of Mediterranean fruit growing to climate change. This project is funded by the PRIMA Programme of the European Union, coordinated by the University of Perugia (Italy) and the consortium is composed of partners from Italy, France, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Spain, with the participation of the Unit of Excellence in Agricultural Production and Environment (AGRIENVIRONMENT) of the Institute for Research in Agrobiotechnology-CIALE of the University of Salamanca and the Zaidín Experimental Station of the CSIC in Granada.
The aim of this initiative is to design olive groves that are capable of resisting future climatic conditions marked by an increase in temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns, causing an increase in the rate of evaporation and a decrease in the availability of water in the soil, as well as an increase in its salinity, according to information published on the website of the News Agency for the Dissemination of Science and Technology (DiCYT).
In this sense, traditional genotypes showing resilience traits will be explored, new consortia of micro-organisms capable of increasing stress tolerance will be developed and new practices will be introduced with the aim of reducing external inputs and negative effects on the environment. The proposed new olive orchard models aim to maintain high quantitative and qualitative levels of production, even in difficult environmental contexts, prioritising at all times the sustainability of olive cultivation.
For their part, the researchers of the AGRIENVIRONMENT unit of the University of Salamanca, led by Paula García Fraile, aim to take advantage of traditional varieties such as wild olive trees and new improved genotypes that facilitate the improvement of olive groves, prioritising care for the environment. To this end, they will explore local varieties and natural populations of olive trees that continue their vegetative development in environments with extreme conditions, in order to evaluate their tolerance to water and salt stress from a genetic point of view. In addition, they will try to develop new microbial consortia, i.e. bacteria and fungi that can increase the resilience of olive trees to environmental stresses and even improve their production.
Finally, the new systems will be tested as a form of organic farming where olive trees are integrated with forage species, increasing the ecosystem services and biodiversity of the crop. At this point, the use of mixed vegetation covers can bring economic and social benefits through the transfer of knowledge between farmers and livestock farmers, improving their interaction and the supply chain itself. Thus, an assessment of the environmental and socio-economic impact of each proposal and of the management and production costs in terms of their impact on the selling price of the products will be carried out, enabling better strategies to be defined to increase farm incomes.
