The Valsugana is a valley located in eastern Trentino. Owing to its outstanding landscape, wildlife, and food-and-wine haracteristics, the Valsugana is considered by many operators in the agri-food sector to be worthy of continuous and further enhancement. The Valsugana was the first destination in Italy to obtain certification for sustainable tourism according to the criteria of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). This organization was established under the auspices of the United Nations to implement what are considered the objectives for sustainable development, namely the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), among which are the promotion of sustainable communities, the orientation toward responsible consumption and production, and the preservation of aquatic and terrestrial environments. Within this context, beekeeping and hive-derived products appear to represent an effective means of promoting and stimulating enhanced environmental valorization from the perspective of sustainability and environmental protection. With this objective, and thanks to the fundamental contribution of bees both to pollination for the benefit of agricultural crops and to the conservation of biodiversity, professional and amateur beekeepers, through their activities, can simultaneously contribute to sustainable development and, through their products, help characterize a specific area, as occurs with other products of both plant and animal origin. This thesis is situated within this framework and aims to highlight the characteristics of honey produced in the Valsugana, focusing primarily on its characterization according to botanical origin through the analysis of pollen associations present in the product, as well as on physicochemical analyses that complete the overall profile. The study seeks to provide local beekeepers with an initial pilot tool that may be useful in the future for requesting the attribution of a quality or valorization label for locally produced honey from the relevant institutions. The work described in this thesis initially began with the identification of beekeeping enterprises—through data provided by the local health authority (ASL) and beekeeping associations—willing to collaborate by submitting analyses carried out on representative samples of their honey. In a second phase, the activity focused on processing the information collected regarding the characteristics of these honeys in order to represent the local production reality. The analytical study involved samples collected in the Valsugana over several production seasons. All data were collected in such a way as to ensure producer anonymity, while still allowing identification of the bees’ foraging areas. Each sample was subjected to physicochemical analyses (moisture content, water-insoluble substances, diastase activity, hydroxymethylfurfural content, and free acidity) as well as melissopalynological analysis. The entire set of analyses was supported by a careful and in-depth study of the production area to which the product is closely linked, examining its boundaries and extent, orographic, climatic, and vegetational characteristics, and the actual state of beekeeping activity. The results obtained from the analyses conducted during this thesis allowed important considerations to be drawn regarding the actual origin and composition of Valsugana honeys and provided objective tools to support a potential institutional valorization of honey produced in the area. From the analyses, a considerable richness of botanical species contributing to the production of high-quality honeys emerged. Melissopalynological analysis also made it possible to define the productive potential of the Valsugana territory, classifying monofloral hon
La Valsugana è una valle situata nel Trentino orientale. Grazie alle sue straordinarie caratteristiche paesaggistiche, faunistiche ed enogastronomiche, la Valsugana è considerata, da gran parte degli operatori del settore agroalimentare, meritevole di una costante e ulteriore valorizzazione. La Valsugana è stata la prima destinazione in Italia ad ottenere la certificazione per il turismo sostenibile secondo i criteri del Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). Quest’organizzazione è nata secondo il volere della Nazioni Unite per concretizzare quelli che sono considerati gli obbiettivi per uno sviluppo sostenibile, i 17 Sustainable Developement Goals tra i quali possiamo menzionarne alcuni: favorire comunità sostenibili, orientarsi a un consumo e a produzioni responsabili, preservare l’ambiente acquatico e terrestre. In tale contesto, l'apicoltura e i suoi prodotti derivati dall'alveare sembrano rappresentare un efficace strumento per promuovere e stimolare una più ricca valorizzazione ambientale nell’ottica della sostenibilità e del rispetto dell’ambiente. Con questo obiettivo, e grazie al fondamentale contributo delle api sia per l'impollinazione a beneficio delle colture agricole sia per la tutela della biodiversità, gli apicoltori, professionisti e amatoriali, con il loro ruolo possono allo stesso tempo contribuire a uno sviluppo sostenibile e con i loro prodotti a caratterizzare una particolare area come accade con altri prodotti sia di origine vegetale che animale. In questo scenario si colloca il presente studio di tesi, il cui obiettivo è evidenziare le caratteristiche del miele prodotto in Valsugana focalizzandosi principalmente sulla caratterizzazione in base all'origine botanica, analizzando le associazioni polliniche presenti nel prodotto e sulle analisi chimico-fisiche che permettono di completare il quadro generale, offrendo agli apicoltori della zona uno strumento iniziale pilota utile per richiedere in futuro alle istituzioni l'attribuzione di un marchio di valorizzazione per il miele prodotto localmente. Il lavoro descritto in questa tesi ha preso avvio inizialmente individuando aziende apistiche (tramite dati forniti da ASL e associazioni) disponibili a collaborare mediante il conferimento di analisi effettuate su campioni rappresentativi del loro miele. In una seconda fase, l'attività si è concentrata nell’elaborazione delle informazioni raccolte sulle caratteristiche di questi mieli che rappresentassero la realtà produttiva locale. Lo studio analitico ha interessato campioni raccolti nella Valsugana durante più stagioni produttive. Tutti i dati considerati sono stati raccolti in modo da garantire l’anonimato del produttore permettendo comunque l’identificazione dell’area di bottinatura delle api. Ciascun campione è stato sottoposto ad analisi chimico-fisiche (umidità, sostanze insolubili in acqua, indice diastasico, idrossimetilfurfurale, acidità libera) e melissopalinologica. Tutto il complesso delle analisi è stato supportato da un attento e approfondito studio dell’area di produzione alla quale il prodotto è strettamente legato, studiandone limiti ed estensioni, caratteristiche orografiche, climatiche, vegetazionali e stato effettivo dell’attività apistica. I risultati delle analisi eseguite durante questo lavoro di tesi hanno consentito di trarre importanti considerazioni sull’effettiva origine e composizione di mieli della Valsugana, e hanno fornito strumenti oggettivi per procedere a una eventuale valorizzazione istituzionale del miele della zona. Dalle analisi è emersa una discreta ricchezza in specie botaniche che contribuiscono all’ottenimento di mieli di buona qualità. L’analisi melissopalinologica ha reso possibile definire anche le potenzialità produttive del territorio della Valsugana
Miele della Valsugana: studio analitico per la caratterizzazione botanica e chimico-fisica
SCHMID, STEFANO
2025/2026
Abstract
The Valsugana is a valley located in eastern Trentino. Owing to its outstanding landscape, wildlife, and food-and-wine haracteristics, the Valsugana is considered by many operators in the agri-food sector to be worthy of continuous and further enhancement. The Valsugana was the first destination in Italy to obtain certification for sustainable tourism according to the criteria of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). This organization was established under the auspices of the United Nations to implement what are considered the objectives for sustainable development, namely the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), among which are the promotion of sustainable communities, the orientation toward responsible consumption and production, and the preservation of aquatic and terrestrial environments. Within this context, beekeeping and hive-derived products appear to represent an effective means of promoting and stimulating enhanced environmental valorization from the perspective of sustainability and environmental protection. With this objective, and thanks to the fundamental contribution of bees both to pollination for the benefit of agricultural crops and to the conservation of biodiversity, professional and amateur beekeepers, through their activities, can simultaneously contribute to sustainable development and, through their products, help characterize a specific area, as occurs with other products of both plant and animal origin. This thesis is situated within this framework and aims to highlight the characteristics of honey produced in the Valsugana, focusing primarily on its characterization according to botanical origin through the analysis of pollen associations present in the product, as well as on physicochemical analyses that complete the overall profile. The study seeks to provide local beekeepers with an initial pilot tool that may be useful in the future for requesting the attribution of a quality or valorization label for locally produced honey from the relevant institutions. The work described in this thesis initially began with the identification of beekeeping enterprises—through data provided by the local health authority (ASL) and beekeeping associations—willing to collaborate by submitting analyses carried out on representative samples of their honey. In a second phase, the activity focused on processing the information collected regarding the characteristics of these honeys in order to represent the local production reality. The analytical study involved samples collected in the Valsugana over several production seasons. All data were collected in such a way as to ensure producer anonymity, while still allowing identification of the bees’ foraging areas. Each sample was subjected to physicochemical analyses (moisture content, water-insoluble substances, diastase activity, hydroxymethylfurfural content, and free acidity) as well as melissopalynological analysis. The entire set of analyses was supported by a careful and in-depth study of the production area to which the product is closely linked, examining its boundaries and extent, orographic, climatic, and vegetational characteristics, and the actual state of beekeeping activity. The results obtained from the analyses conducted during this thesis allowed important considerations to be drawn regarding the actual origin and composition of Valsugana honeys and provided objective tools to support a potential institutional valorization of honey produced in the area. From the analyses, a considerable richness of botanical species contributing to the production of high-quality honeys emerged. Melissopalynological analysis also made it possible to define the productive potential of the Valsugana territory, classifying monofloral hon| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12608/105172