Immersive Exploration of Veneto-Water and Veneto-Carbon Living Labs in the Borsea Area
In this farm, a comparative trial of different types of cover crops is being conducted. The first cover crop (Crotalaria–cowpea mix, BUL) was sown by broadcasting immediately before the wheat harvest (mid-June). The second cover (sorghum–crotalaria, SC) was sown at the end of July, while the last cover (oat–vetch–mustard, AVS) was sown at the end of August.
In the immersive photo, researchers are inspecting the development of the BUL strip, which is separated on the right from the SC strip by an untreated (no cover crop) control area. The AVS cover crop is not yet visible in the photo, as it was sown only a few days earlier.
About a week after the initial site visit, researchers began a series of assessments focused on the presence of weeds, cover crop biomass, and soil cover at various growth stages. The goal was to evaluate not only the development of each cover crop but also their ability to compete with weeds. Biomass was measured by placing a 1 m² quadrat on the ground and harvesting all plant material within it—a well-established method in agronomy for estimating cover crop biomass. For soil cover evaluation, researchers used drones equipped with RGB cameras, enabling rapid and non-destructive assessment over large areas. At a later stage, these datasets will be analyzed together to draw practical conclusions on the performance and suitability of the different cover crops for field use..
About a month after the initial survey, a second assessment of biomass and soil cover was carried out using the same methods as before. At this stage, all the cover crops were fully developed: the BUL cover had reached its maximum growth stage and was soon to be mowed; the SC had grown to about one meter in height (visible in the distance in the photo), while the AVS (closest to the operators) was still in early development and did not yet provide ideal ground cover. The photo shows an operator directing a drone toward the area where researchers placed stakes for ground biomass sampling.
View from inside the SC plot. The immersive photo shows how quickly the cover crop reached one meter in height, with both species composing it (sorghum and crotalaria) having reached the flowering stage. In this image, researchers are conducting biomass surveys in the AVS plot, while the operator in the distance is carrying out soil cover assessments using drones.