Terroir 2020 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Projections of vine phenology and grape composition of Tempranillo variety In Rioja DOCa (Spain) under climate change

Projections of vine phenology and grape composition of Tempranillo variety In Rioja DOCa (Spain) under climate change

Abstract

Aims: Some of the most direct effects of climate variability on grapevines are the changes in the onset and timing of phenological events and in the length of the growing season, which may affect grape quality. The aim of this research was to analyze the projected changes in vine phenology and on grape composition of the Tempranillo variety in Rioja DOCa under different climate change scenarios.

Methods and Results: Three zones of Rioja DOCa, located at different elevations and with different climatic conditions were compared. For the analysis, vine phenology referred to flowers separated and veraison (stage H and M, according to Baillod and Baggiolini) and maturity defined based on the date at which 13ᵒ were reached, were analysed in the three zones for the period between 2008 and 2018. Grape composition at maturity, including variables related to acidity and polyphenol content was also evaluated for the same period. The weather characteristics for the places where the plots were located were also analysed using data of different meteorological stations belonging to the Rioja government. The thermal requirements to reach each phenological stage were evaluated and expressed as the GDD accumulated from DOI=60, which were considered to predict the changes under future climatic conditions. The analysis was done for the future conditions predicted by 2050 and 2070 under two Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios –RCP4.5 and RCP8.5-, which were simulated based on an ensemble of 10 models.

An advance of the phenological stages was predicted, higher for veraison and maturity than for floraison. The advance of the stage H, M and maturity for the three zones by 2050 could be up to 5, 8, and 12 days, respectively under the RCP4.5 emission trajectory, and up to 8, 12 and 15, respectively under the RCP8.5 emission trajectory. The predicted advances indicate that the differences in timing that already exists between zones will be maintained or even increase, which will imply reaching maturity in the second half of August in the warmer area and in earlier September in the coolest one. Grape acidity could suffer a decrease with increasing temperature, while anthocyanins could decrease by the increase of temperature but increase due to the higher expected water deficit, and these changes could differ among zones. In addition, due to the advance in the phenology a decoupling between anthocyanins and sugars could result, which suggest the need of applying new management techniques to maintain grape quality.

Conclusion: 

The Tempranillo variety cultivated in Rioja DO may suffer significant changes in phenology and in grape composition under climate change, affected both by increasing temperatures and higher water deficits. However, differences were found between zones within the Rioja DOCa.

Significance and Impact of the Study: The study allowed quantifying the differences in the impact that climate change may produce in phenology and in grape composition in zones with different climatic conditions, which may be taken under consideration to identify potential areas in which the Tempranillo variety may suffer lower impacts under climate change.

DOI:

Publication date: March 17, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2020

Type: Video

Authors

María Concepción Ramos1*, Fernando Martínez de Toda2

1Department of Environment and Soil Sciences-Agrotecnio, University of Lleida, Spain
2ICVV- Institute of Grapevine and Wine Science (University of La Rioja, CSIC, Government of La Rioja), Logroño, Spain

Contact the author

Keywords

Acidity, anthocyanins, berry weight, polyphenols, soil characteristics, available water content

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2020

Citation

Related articles…

The concept of terroir: what place for microbiota?

Microbes play key roles on crop nutrient availability via biogeochemical cycles, rhizosphere interactions with roots as well as on plant growth and health. Recent advances in technologies, such as High Throughput Sequencing Techniques, allowed to gain deeper insight on the structure of bacterial and fungal communities associated with soil, rhizosphere and plant phyllosphere. Over the past 10 years, numerous scientific studies have been carried out on the microbial component of the vineyard. Whether the soil or grape compartments have been taken into account, many studies agree on the evidence of regional delineations of microbial communities, that may contribute to regional wine characteristics and typicity. Some authors proposed the term “microbial terroir” including “yeast terroir” for grapes to describe the connection between microbial biogeography and regional wine characteristics. Many factors are involved in terroir including climate, soil, cultivar and human practices as well as their interactions. Studies considering “microbial terroir” greatly contributed to improve our knowledge on factors that shape the vineyard microbial structure and diversity. However, the potential impact of “microbial terroir” on wine composition has yet not received strong scientific evidence and many questions remain to be addressed, related to the functional characterization of the microbial community and its impact on plant physiology and grape composition, the origins and interannual stability of vineyard microbiota, as well as their impact on wine sensorial attributes. The presentation will give an overview on the role of microbiota as a terroir component and will highlight future perspectives and challenges on this key subject for the wine industry.

Projected changes in vine phenology of two varieties with different thermal requirements cultivated in La Mancha DO (Spain) under climate change scenarios

The aim of this work was to analyze the phenology variability of Tempranillo and Chardonnay cultivars, related to the climatic characteristics in La Mancha Designation of Origin, and their potential changes under climate change scenarios. Phenological dates referred to budbreak, flowering, veraison and harvest were analyzed for the period 2000-2019. The weather conditions at daily time scale, recorded during the same period, were also evaluated. The thermal requirements to reach each of these phenological stages were calculated and expressed as the GDD accumulated from DOY=60. Changes in phenology were projected by 2050 and 2070 taking into account those values and the projected temperatures and precipitation, simulated under two Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios –RCP4.5 and RCP8.5– using an ensemble of models. The average phenological dates during the period under study were, April 16th ± 6.6 days and April 5th ± 6.0 days for budbreak, May 31st ± 6.0 days and May 27th ± 5.3 days for flowering, July 26th ± 5.6 days and July 25th ± 5.8 days for veraison, and Ago 23rd ± 10.8 days and Ago 17th ± 9.0 days for harvest, respectively, for Tempranillo and Chardonnay. The projected changes in temperature imply an average change in the maximum growing season (April-August) temperatures of 1.2 and 1.9°C by 2050, and 1.6 and 2.6°C by 2070, under the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios, respectively. A reduction in precipitation is predicted, which vary between 15% for 2050 under RCP4.5 scenario and up to 30% by 2070 under RCP8.5. The advance of the phenological dates for 2050, could be of 6, 7, 7, and 8 days for Tempranillo and 4, 6, 6 and 9 days for Chardonnay, respectively for budbreak, flowering, veraison and harvest under the RCP4.5 scenario. Under the RCP8.5 emission scenario, the advance could be up to 30% higher.

Analysis of Cabernet Sauvignon and Aglianico winegrape (V. vinifera L.) responses to different pedo-climatic environments in southern Italy

Water deficit is one of the most important effects of climate change able to affect agricultural sectors. In general, it determines a reduction in biomass production, and for some plants, as in the case of grapevine, it can endorse fruit quality. The monitoring and management of plant water stress in the vineyard

A predictive model of spatial Eca variability in the vineyard to support the monitoring of plant status

[lwp_divi_breadcrumbs home_text="IVES" use_before_icon="on" before_icon="||divi||400" module_id="publication-ariane" _builder_version="4.19.4" _module_preset="default" module_text_align="center" module_font_size="16px" text_orientation="center"...

Mapping and tracking canopy size with VitiCanopy

Understanding vineyard variability to target management strategies, apply inputs efficiently and deliver consistent grape quality to the winery is essential. However, despite inherent vineyard variability, the majority are managed as if they are uniform. VitiCanopy is a simple, grower-friendly tool for precision/digital viticulture that allows users to collect and interpret objective spatial information about vineyard performance. After four years of field and market research, an upgraded VitiCanopy has been created to achieve a more streamlined, technology-assisted vine monitoring tool that provides users with a set of superior new features, which could significantly improve the way users monitor their grapevines. These new features include:
• New user interface
• User authentication
• Batch analysis of multiple images
• Ease the learning curve through enhanced help features
• Reporting via the creation of colour maps that will allow users to assess the spatial differences in canopies within a vineyard.
Use-case examples are presented to demonstrate the quantification and mapping of vineyard variability through objective canopy measurements, ground-truthing of remotely sensed measurements, monitoring of crop conditions, implementation of disease and water management decisions as well as creating a history of each site to forecast quality. This intelligent tool allows users to manage grapevines and make informed management choices to achieve the desired production targets and remain profitable.