68 The direction Simply asserting that we should emulate nature doesn't guarantee the reproduction or respect of essential aspects of natural dynamics. While well-intentioned, wanting to imitate nature without significantly altering agricultural design can result in replicating only a vague visual resemblance of a restored landscape, missing the crucial functional characteristics essential for a balanced ecosystem. This deep ecological understanding becomes an ethical guideline in Syntropic Agriculture, as any intervention is only considered appropriate if it contributes to a positive net balance of energy converted into biomass, which, in turn, evolves into increasingly complex life forms. After two and a half years at Amadeco, we've documented a four-fold increase in the soil's organic matter content. Additionally, data collected by our soil sensors revealed that its temperature and humidity remained more constant throughout the seasons, compared to unmanaged areas. This is beneficial for soil microbiology and reduces the need for irrigation, requiring water only once a week from late June to August. To date, we've planted around 20,000 shrubs, fruit trees, and forest trees, including a variety closely resembling those mentioned in the paleobotanical studies we referenced earlier. Species belonging to more advanced successional stages are planted in the company of all previous consortia, which protect them in the first years and create the necessary conditions for their healthy establishment. On a social level, we view the attention this work has garnered from many in the region as another positive indicator. Farmers, teachers, restaurant chefs or just neighbors, from near and far, make up the biodiversity of relationships that our team have organically built in the region. Puglia's history is marked by agricultural cycles characterized by peaks followed by decline. These cycles leave scars on the land and in the lives of people. When young Salentines are drawn to our work and motivated to stay in the territory, not to participate in a new cycle of exploitation but rather to actively participate in a new narrative of land regeneration, it makes us wonder: isn't the most honorable way to respect a rural tradition, to give it a viable future? www.amadeco.it
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