How a traditional agricultural protection structure acts in conditioning the internal microclimate: a statistical analytical approach to Giardino Pantesco (Pantelleria Island-Italy)

This work aims to analyze the traditional agricultural technique of the Giardino Pantesco, typical of the isle of Pantelleria (Sicily, Italy). With this particular technique a single citrus tree is encircled by a drywall of volcanic rocks allowing it to grow even in the island’s unfavorable meteorological conditions. This technique has been analyzed by placing one instrumental array inside the Giardino and one outside and by measuring different environmental variables. The aim of the work is therefore to understand what is the drywall’s effect on the tree by analyzing the time series produced by the sensors, using cross-correlation techniques and reducing the series’ autocorrelation, so that the time series are not biased by variables’ memory. The outcome of the analysis shows that the wall acts in different ways depending on the variable in consideration and tends to buffer environmental extremes which can potentially harm the citrus tree.