Capodimonte, environmental monitoring station strengthened

The environmental monitoring station in the Real Bosco di Capodimonte, an integral part of the ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System) infrastructure, has begun a new phase of operations thanks to the cutting-edge technologies installed on the 30-meter-high monitoring tower.

This significant upgrade, supported by the MUR's Pro-Icos_Med project, marks a turning point in the station's data collection capacity. "The measuring station located within the Capodimonte Forest provides data that demonstrates the Forest's importance to the environmental quality of the city of Naples," says Carlo Calfapietra, Director of CNR-Iret, Focal Point of Icos Italia and PI of the station.

“The close collaboration with the Bosco Management ensures that we work to the highest scientific standards while fully safeguarding the cultural and natural heritage”. “Capodimonte – declares Eike Schmidt, director of the Museum and Real Bosco – represents the green lung of NAPLES, not only an important museum in one of the largest urban parks in Italy, but a site of great ecological value at the service of the city.

The restart and strengthening of the monitoring station, working on crucial issues of climate change, today makes the Museum and Real Bosco a center for environmental and naturalistic research. In particular, thanks to the Cnr-Iret project, the Real Bosco renews its vocation as a place of well-being, health and scientific research”.

The Royal Wood of Capodimonte, which has recently doubled its fitness trails, represents an important naturalistic and historical heritage, but at the same time hosts a protected area, thanks to the presence of the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Biodiversity and Parks of NAPLES. Since 2015, the station has been collecting fundamental data for the study of the urban environment and its relationship with climate change.

Among the most recent results, a study published in the journal Urban Climate, conducted by Cnr-Iret in collaboration with Eurac Research of Bolzano and the “Department of Environmental Resources Engineering” of the University of Syracuse (USA), analyzed the role of urban green areas in carbon sequestration and heat wave mitigation.