Research areas

The research activities of DAFNE focus on sustainable development in the agricultural, food, forestry, and environmental sectors, pursued through an interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary approach. DAFNE promotes the mobility of Professors, Researchers, PhD Students, and Research Fellows to national and international universities and research centers, with particular emphasis on PhD students enrolled in the PhD program in “Plant and Animal Production Sciences,” based at DAFNE; “Engineering for Energy and Environment,” and “Economics, Management, and Quantitative Methods,” both based at DEIM, with one curriculum affiliated with DAFNE.

Significant research activity is conducted by Professors and PhD students in collaboration with the private sector, aimed at fostering interaction between academia and industry to enhance innovation in private companies and promote the development of strategic supply chains.

Below are the research areas at DAFNE.

Ecological, Energy, and Digital Transition

• Ecological Transition: Valorization of waste through green chemistry methodologies and optimization of active ingredient extraction processes using sustainable technologies; cropping systems and agronomic techniques to improve soil quality and agri-food production; innovative photovoltaic greenhouses.
• Energy Transition: Innovative interventions in the agro-forestry and agro-industrial sectors; production and monitoring of renewable energies; energy supply to households in rural areas, analysis of energy expenditure and its impact on income; tools supporting the technological transfer to companies.
• Digital Transition: Digital Soil System (DSS) and data fusion for rapid mapping of soil properties; development of DSS for variable-rate irrigation and plant nutrition management, entomological and pathological modeling, and DSS for crops; digital technologies for precision agriculture in harvesting machinery; crop stress monitoring and hyperspectral remote sensing; livestock precision farming to improve production efficiency, environmental and economic sustainability of livestock enterprises, and product quality; digital solutions for worker safety and health.

Productive Systems

• Herbaceous/Horticultural Systems: Development of genotypes with enhanced nutritional and qualitative value, cultivated with low environmental impact agronomic techniques; development of resilient/resistant genotypes to climate change; sustainable biotechnological processes for the production of innovative cereal-based foods; traceability of agri-food supply chains (cereals and horticultural crops) using molecular procedures.
• Arboricultural Systems: Study of stress factors in response to climate change; low-input management models; land suitability and soil resilience; innovations in the nut and olive sectors.
• Livestock Systems: Selection of animals tolerant to heat stress and with low greenhouse gas emissions; advanced systems and models for evaluating and reducing the environmental impact of livestock activities; precision feeding for adaptation to climate change.

Forestry, Natural, and Semi-Natural Systems

• Ecosystem Functions, Climate Change, and Biodiversity: Monitoring and analysis of climate change effects on natural ecosystems and bioecological processes; biodiversity dynamics in forest systems and conservation strategies; methodologies for monitoring and analyzing semi-natural systems and their dynamics; the role of natural and semi-natural systems in improving the sustainability of agricultural activities and defining low-intensity agricultural systems; study of urban forestry models and green infrastructures for the ecological transition of urban spaces.
• Forestry Systems and Woody and Non-Woody Products: Forest management in relation to certification schemes; low-impact forestry for sustainable management; monitoring of management systems and forest supply chains; analysis of woody and non-woody product supply chains; study of innovative supply chains for the valorization of marginal and mountainous areas.
• Mediterranean Medicinal Plants: Selection of medicinal plants for the production of extracts, essential oils, and novel products; extraction processes of active ingredients using sustainable green chemistry technologies based on low-cost production models.