Antonio Bruno

Antonio Bruno is a PhD candidate at the University of Udine in Italy. His work in territorial agronomy is co-supervised by Elisa Marracini (Professor at Udine) and Philippe Martin (SADAPT). His research focuses on the adaptation of cropping systems to climate change in the Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG) region. This region has traditionally been characterized by cropping systems dominated by maize. However, climate change is making maize production increasingly difficult in the absence of access to irrigation. Conversely, rising temperatures are also making double cropping possible (a winter cereal followed by a short-cycle spring crop such as soybean, allowing two harvests in the same year). In this context, the aim is to understand, through field surveys, the technical adaptation strategies developed by farmers in response to climate change, while also identifying, at the regional scale, how crop rotations and cropping sequences are evolving—particularly with regard to the increased use of double cropping. This work relies on the regional Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS), the Italian equivalent of the French “RPG.” The research conducted mainly in the FVG region will be complemented by a comparison with southwestern France, where similar trends are emerging. The study also involves methodological developments to improve the RPG Explorer tool so it can account for intermediate cover crops, rather than only the main crop declared by farmers. Antonio is staying at SADAPT from early May to early August 2025 to work with Baptiste and Philippe on adapting RPG Explorer and refining the research to be carried out in southwestern France.