Figures 1a and 1b- Évora montado and Evora tower

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1 BRIEF DESCRIPTION AND CONSIDERATION ABOUT THE EXPERIMENTAL SITES PORTUGUESE SITES ITALIAN SITES PORTUGUESE EXPERIMENTAL SITES In Portugal, 4 experimental sites were established. Évora- Sparse mixed stand trees/ha, mainly Quercus rotundifolia (local name: azinheira), with some Quercus suber (cork tree, local name: sobreiro). Tower with 25 m equipped with automatic meteorological station and eddycovariance sensors. Shallow soil (total field capacity-wilting point: 24 mm). Small towers to access the canopies. Other research projects running in the area. See photo 1a and 1b. Atalaia, peach orchard- already under study in the past, (see Acta Horticulturae, 537, several papers). See photo 2. Distance between plants is 2 m, between lines 5 m. Ground cover 30%. Sandy soil. The orchard with an area of about 8 ha is located near the road, 15 km from Montijo (to the East). ). Results from a similar orchard in the same area in Acta Horticulturae, 449 (2): The measurements made in this site finished now (August 2001) as the orchard is going to be substituted by a vineyard. Montijo- Quercus suber - several areas of Quercus suber, with different densities, between Montijo and Pegões. Some limitations concerning ideal fetch in the proximity of the orchard. At Rio Frio (headquarter at 7 to 10 km from the orchard) several big areas with plantations of 10 m per 10 m, trees with about one century. Deep soil (sandy in the upper part). Montijo- Vineyard- see photo 3 Figures 1a and 1b- Évora montado and Evora tower

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3 Figures 2 and 3- Peach orchard and vineyard near Montijo and Setúbal

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5 ITALIAN EXPERIMENTAL SITES A survey to identify and choose the Italian site was performed last February 8-9. Both Rossano Massai (Univ. Pisa) and Francesca De Lorenzi (CNR-ISPAIM, Napoli) joined the survey and helped evaluating critical aspects of the choice. Selection of the site has considered a range of scientifical, technical and logistical issues. We used the already well-established relationships with the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Bari and the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (the Italian operating centre of the Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes) to identify suitable olive orchards in the Puglia region, where this crop has its maximum extension in Italy. The farm chosen was Azienda Spagnoletti in the Province of Bari, close to Andria, in a gently sloping terrain (Photo 4).

6 Photo 4. General view of the Azienda Spanoletti, close to Andria. The farm is several hundreds ha large, encompassing a range of soil types and local fertility. Several patches of olive orchards differ in age, tree spacing and water management (some are rainfed, some are drip-irrigated). In general, they are quite widely spaced (8, 9 10 m) and most are older than 100 years. Average soil is shallow and stony. Despite that, an olive stand of adequate size (> 10 ha) has been found on a relatively flat terrain (estimated slope < 5%) and on a deep soil with very few stones (Photo 5). Photo 5. View of the selected plot in the Azienda Spagnoletti. Electrical power is just 300 m from the selected plot. As a positive logistical aspect of this farm, the owner lives there and can provide some assistance and manpower for setting up the site. He is Professor (breeding) at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Basilicata (Potenza) and that could increase his interest toward our work.

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