Future Climate Change Impacts on European Viticulture: A Review on Recent Scientific Advances

Ioannis Charalampopoulos,Fotoula Droulia

doi:10.3390/atmos12040495

Abstract

Climate change is a continuous spatiotemporal reality, possibly endangering the viability of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) in the future. Europe emerges as an especially responsive area where the grapevine is largely recognised as one of the most important crops, playing a key environmental and socio-economic role. The mounting evidence on significant impacts of climate change on viticulture urges the scientific community in investigating the potential evolution of these impacts in the upcoming decades. In this review work, a first attempt for the compilation of selected scientific research on this subject, during a relatively recent time frame (2010–2020), is implemented. For this purpose, a thorough investigation through multiple search queries was conducted and further screened by focusing exclusively on the predicted productivity parameters (phenology timing, product quality and yield) and cultivation area alteration. Main findings on the potential impacts of future climate change are described as changes in grapevine phenological timing, alterations in grape and wine composition, heterogeneous effects on grapevine yield, the expansion into areas that were previously unsuitable for grapevine cultivation and significant geographical displacements in traditional growing areas. These compiled findings may facilitate and delineate the implementation of effective adaptation and mitigation strategies, ultimately potentiating the future sustainability of European viticulture.

Highlights

Climate change, known as CC, is defined as any change in the state of the climate that persists for an extended period of time, and is considered by the vast majority of the scientific community as one of the great environmental concerns facing mankind in the 21st century [1,2]
The projected changes over the European continent indicate average warming between 2.5 and 5.5 ◦C by the end of the 21st century, with higher warming rates in southern regions and towards the northeast [80,93], and significant increases of the minimum and maximum temperatures in summer and autumn [94]
The projected impacts of the increased warming trend on the further anticipation of grapevine phenological phases reveal that regions with the largest anticipations are located in many countries of eastern Europe (e.g., Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania) in northern Iberia, in some French regions and Italy

Summary

Introduction

Known as CC, is defined as any change in the state of the climate that persists for an extended period of time (see Appendix B), and is considered by the vast majority of the scientific community as one of the great environmental concerns facing mankind in the 21st century [1,2]. Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is included in this category given that it is largely recognised as one of the most important crops cultivated across Europe, playing a key socioeconomic role. This continent, with the largest wine production and vineyard area in the world, is home to some of the most important and renowned wine-making regions and wines. These are especially predominant in the Mediterranean region and in the world’s top wine-producing countries: Italy, France and Spain [16]

Methods

Results

Conclusion