Location of Pilot Area 

The pilot area is in Dolj County, Romania, located in the southwest of the Oltenia region within the Romanian Plain. Dolj’s capital is Craiova, and the county is built around the lower course of the River Jiu. Covering 7,414 km², Dolj represents 3.1% of Romania’s total area, making it the 7th largest administrative unit in the country.

The pilot area lead for Romania is Vlad Crisan (INCDS).

> Key Stakeholders

The stakeholders in Dolj include local residents, private forest owners, and public forest managers. Public forests are managed by the Romanian National Forests Administration (Romsilva – RNP) through local forest administrations. TERRASAFE aims to engage with both agricultural and forest landowners, especially those with and without forest shelter-belts, as these are crucial for desertification resilience.

> Factors Affecting
   Desertification

Desertification in Dolj is driven by several factors:

• Increasingly arid climate with high temperatures and low precipitation.
• Loss of vegetation, leading to soil erosion, depletion of organic matter, and reduced soil water retention.
• Soil properties, which can contribute to soil salinization under these harsh conditions.

> Combatting Desertification

Traditional reforestation is the primary method used to combat desertification. TERRASAFE will compare these traditional techniques with proposed innovations to evaluate their effectiveness in enhancing vegetation cover and preventing soil degradation. Promoting modern and innovative strategies, such as ecological crops, advanced technologies, and new genotypes, can provide supplementary income for local communities and positively impact the fight against desertification.

> Tested Innovations

The innovations that will be tested in this Pilot Area are:

Agrobiogel – A gel made from 100% wood that mimics humus. It absorbs and stores water from rain or irrigation in the soil and then slowly releases it back to the plants during dry periods.

Agrodit – Soil sensors that provide real-time data on moisture, salinity and temperature. They allow users to respond immediately to sub-optimal environmental and soil conditions before visual symptoms appear.

Imflorestal produce Ecochar – a biochar-compost mixture that restructures soil, adds carbon and reduces the need for reduces the need for water and fertilisers. It is inspired by “terra preta do indio”, or Indian black earth  – a very fertile dark soil found in the Amazon basin.

Polymer-based hydrogels (e.g. Zeba) are increasingly used by Forest Management Units and afforestation companies have sought to improve the survival rate of young seedlings.

The traditional method involves planting seedlings as they are delivered from the nursery, without prior treatments to them or to the soil.