Changing climate and potential impacts on potato yield and quality ‘CHIP’: introduction, aims and methodology

Abstract

Climate change effects caused by an increasing concentration of CO 2 and ozone represent an issue of major concern both for scientists and policy-makers. In a concerted program funded by the Commission of the European Union, a European network of experiments (in open-top chambers (OTC), and free air carbon dioxide enrichment systems (FACE)) and modelling was carried out to investigate the effects of increasing atmospheric CO 2 and ozone concentrations, under different climatic conditions, on potato ( Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Bintje). This contribution describes the experimental network and the standard protocol set-up for the assessments that served to improve and to validate process oriented potato growth simulation models leading to scenarios of future productivity of potato in Europe.