Duration: five days. Departure and arrival both in Florence
Field trip goals: Observation of soils in the Alps and in the piedmont area, with diverse climates and land uses over short distances. Alpine forest soils from Podzols to Calcisols; Alpine tundra soils from Regosols to Cambisols and Umbrisols; Pleistocene glacio-fluvial terraces and rice fields in piedmont areas
Destination: Valle d’Aosta and Piemonte Regions (NW-Italy)
Soil-related topics: Geomorphology, botany, glaciology, hydrology
Other multidisciplinary topics: ecosystem services, paddy field management, climate change, LTER
Location: Aosta – Torino (490 km far from Florence)
From a lake in a subalpine forest to a paddy field in the piedmont area
Typical soil of the humid subalpine stone pine/larch forests (Albic Ortsteinic Podzol)
Typical soil of the steppe pine woods in the inneralpine Aosta Valley (Petric Calcisol)
Socio-cultural themes: Stop in Aosta city, important Roman town on the gallic road; Forte di Bard; Reggia di Venaria.
Roman ruins in the centre of Aosta city
The grand Bard Fort controlling the entrance to the Aosta Valley
Reggia di Venaria, one of the royal places of the Savoia family
Rice paddy view in the Piedmont region
