Abstract
Developing adaptation strategies in Vitis vinifera, a crop sensitive to climate change, is crucial for resilience of traditional viticultural systems, especially in climate-vulnerable areas like the Mediterranean basin. A progressive warming is demonstrated to alter the geographical distribution of grapevine, reducing land capability for typical grapes and vine productions in most Southern European districts traditionally specialized in tree crops. Grapevine growth and reproduction under climate change require a continuous monitoring to adapt agronomic practices and strategies to global change. The present study illustrates an empirical approach grounded on a set of bio-physical indicators assessing the genotype-related response to climate variation. This approach was tested in Umbria, central Italy, to verify the response of some major international and local grapevine varieties to climate variation during a relatively long time interval (1995–2015). Long-term data for ripening time and berry quality collected in the study area were correlated to representative bioclimatic indices including Winkler, Huglin, and Cool night indicators. Results of this study highlighted the increase of air temperature (reflecting the inherent growth in thermal availability for maturation) and the alteration of precipitation patterns toward more intense precipitation. Climate variability exerted distinctive impacts on grapevine phenology depending on the related genotype. Empirical findings underline the usefulness of a permanent field monitoring of the relationship between selected climate variables and grape ripening with the aim to develop adaptive viticultural practices at farm’s scale.
Highlights
Climate, a main component of the ‘terroir’ notion, is a key factor for grapevine geographical distribution across the world [1,2], as well as for grape and wine quality [3,4], and healthiness [5].Thanks to the high plasticity to environmental shocks, grapevine cultivation is diffused all over the world, adapting to different physiographic conditions as far as latitude and elevation are concerned
Grapevine performances are influenced by climate variability—primarily by thermal availability—and this species has been increasingly recognized as a bio-indicator of global warming [6]
The present study provides an integrated approach grounded on the measure of a set of physical and biological data able to assess the genotype-related response to microclimate variation, with the final aim to orient technical decisions for improving vineyard management
Summary
A main component of the ‘terroir’ notion, is a key factor for grapevine geographical distribution across the world [1,2], as well as for grape and wine quality [3,4], and healthiness [5]. Thanks to the high plasticity to environmental shocks, grapevine cultivation is diffused all over the world, adapting to different physiographic conditions as far as latitude and elevation are concerned (www.OIV.org). Climate adaptation strategies are especially required to minimize climate change impact on viticulture [7,8]. The increase of the winegrower’s awareness of the need to adapt vineyard management to new climatic conditions has been reported to cope with this issue. Understanding climate risk and improving preparedness to climate impacts—in addition to the development of new technical strategies
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