Abstract
The technological possibilities of environmental monitoring have developed enor- mously over the past few years. The MONALISA Project has combined the potential of various technologies and has gathered data for South Tyrol at different levels, from the smallest scale of the individual apple, to the whole orchard and all the way to data covering the whole of South Tyrol. Thanks to this all-embracing monitoring, research is now able to gain new insights into the interrelationship between climate and environment, allowing farmers and foresters to plan ahead with greater efficiency. This is all the more important in a mountainous area such as South Tyrol, as the economic activity of the population is highly dependent on environmental conditions. Why MONALISA is so innovative • earth observation satellites are regularly transmitting data giving us information covering the condition of the entire region, for example snow coverage, state of the vegetation, soil moisture • drones allow small-scale surveys of agricultural and forest areas , for example tree heights, state of the vegetation or evaporation • a whole network of sensors with 27 stations enable constant observation of soil moisture and state of the vegetation at a local level • sensors in farm and forestry equipment make it possible to monitor operational processes • after harvest, the quality of the harvested products and their development during storage can be investigated using the latest non-destructive procedures