Land, Environment, Resources, Health - L.E.R.H.
Antonella Tosatto
The mission of the LERH programme is to define integrated strategies for the management of natural resources and risks, with the aim of promoting cross-sectoral rural development and related bio-economic activities by using advanced knowledge and expertise.
Further information
Course Objectives
The mission of the LERH programme is to understand the processes governing natural and agricultural ecosystems and their relationship with socio-economic processes, and to train managers, researchers and practitioners in integrated strategies for the management of natural and food resources, with the aim of promoting sustainable rural and agri-food development and ensuring the broadest social benefits. Specific attention is devoted to the dynamics linked to environmental and climate change.
Training activities
The training activities focus on the study of the components contributing to the determination of the quantity and quality of agroforestry systems and to environmental protection (soil, climate, plants, water, plant protection measures, biodiversity).
Research areas
The five research areas of the LERH Programme are: Agricultural, forestry and food economics and policy; Forest ecology and forest management; Hydrology, water resources, soil and soil conservation; Agricultural and forestry mechanisation and operations management; Viticulture and oenology, food quality and nutrition.
The disciplinary fields covered by the LERH course are therefore broad and range from individual biological organisms to natural and managed ecosystems, from natural systems to agricultural and landscape systems, and from resource conservation to their use with the aim of providing, sustainably, a flow of goods and services to consumers and society through food and non-food supply chains. Understanding and effectively managing agricultural, forestry and environmental resources in times of profound change requires a long-term vision and multidisciplinary approaches involving the entire board of lecturers, which works with experts from different disciplines and with a marked focus on international collaboration.
Professional profile
Overall, the training provided by the PhD course offers good employment opportunities both in public and private research and experimental institutions, and in highly specialised technical-scientific professional sectors, in companies and organisations where problems of high complexity must be addressed. The experience gained during the LERH PhD course shows how the high scientific qualification and the excellent aptitude for teamwork acquired make PhD graduates highly valued for entry into the academic world. Statistics show, in fact, that PhD graduates from the most recent cycles have found positions both in Italy and abroad, in academia and in international institutions. Professional opportunities in national and regional public bodies and in the advanced tertiary sector have also been significant, particularly in design and consultancy activities in engineering firms, IT services and digital cartography services relating to land management, but also in highly technological and knowledge-intensive self-employment activities.
The employment prospects for PhD graduates are varied:
- research in public and private organisations, in Italy and abroad; research and teaching at Universities;
- high-level and highly qualified professional activity in public and private institutions and companies operating in the forestry and agro-industrial sector.
Other information
Syllabus
Aggiornato 6 agosto 2026 / Updated August 6, 2026)
Contacts
Land, Environment, Resources, Health - L.E.R.H.
Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry
Viale dell'Università 16 - 35020 Legnaro (PD)
Marco Borga (Coordinator)
marco.borga@unipd.it
Laura Secco (Deputy Coordinator; Teaching Coordinator)
laura.secco@unipd.it
Administrative Contacts
phd.lerh@unipd.it