Proposal of an integrated system for the monitoring of N flows from breeding in the autonomous Province of Bolzano – Northern Italy

The Province of Bolzano (Italian alpine area) has a density of people and animals comparable to other regions of Northern Italy. Anyhow, due to the special nature of its mountainous lands, there are potentially-critical situations to be monitored: (i) the anthropic and animal pressure is considerable on valleys, where the population concentrates; (ii) there are few lands for spreading animal slurry according to environmentally-sustainable strategies (i.e., limiting N-rate). Therefore, an integrated system for monitoring the N-rates spread on the territory is proposed. Analogous systems were recently experienced in other Italian regions where specific research projects proposed solutions to monitor the production and distribution of slurry from intensive breeding and to automatically compile field-activity registers, in accordance with current regulations. The system presented here also foresees tools for managing grazing systems through virtual fences (GNSS-equipped collars).