Adaptation can be a key factor that will shape the future severity of climate change impacts\non food production. The objective of this study was to assess the suitability of an agro-ecological\napproach based on various techniques as potential adaptation strategy in organic horticultural\nsystems. A long-term field experiment was set up in Southern Italy, combining: (i) appropriate\nsoil surface shaping; (ii) cash crop rotation; (iii) agro-ecological service crops (ASC) introduction as\nliving mulch and complementary crops; (iv) tailored organic fertilization; and (v) alternative tillage\nstrategies. In this paper, the first two-year results on cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L.) and tomato\n(Solanum lycopersicum L.) crops, as well as energy consumptions through the Energy Analysis (EA)\nmethod are reported. Due to the climatic conditions that occurred, which were characterized by the\nabsence of extreme climatic events (particularly rainfall), it was not possible to verify if the designed\nexperimental device was able to mitigate the impact of climate change, whereas the EA indicated that\ntotal energy inputs were lower when ASC are introduced in cropping systems.
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