RIADE is the most important Italian projects on desertification. It aims at providing public administration in charge for land development planning with suitable decision support system tools. Its methodological approach is highly innovative and it aims at improving the understanding of the cause-effect relationship of desertification processes, setting up innovative procedures and data processing methods for mapping and monitoring desertification phenomena, developing mathematical models for numerical simulation of the desertification processes, building a Decision Support System (DSS) as a tool to support the local administration policy making. A master degree named F-RIADE is associated to the research project activities. This complies to the need for a methodological and technological qualification of the researchers engaged in the environmental sustainable management in vulnerable areas.

Title and acronym: Integrated research for applying new technologies and processes for combating desertification - RIADE

Dates: from October 2002 to October 2006

Location: Sicily, Sardinia, Apulia and Basilicata

Partnership: ACS-Italy, ENEA-Italy

Source of Funding: MIUR

Role of NRD: partner

Scientific responsible: Prof. G. Ghiglieri (for WP4.4)

NRD members and staff involved: Dott. A Carletti, Dott. R. Pinna, Dott. A. Vigo, Dott. N. Demurtas; Dott. V. Colombo, Dott. C. Zucca