Integrating climate and satellite remote sensing to assess the reaction of Vitis vinifera L. to a changing environment in the Western Cape, South Africa

Abstract

In the context of climate change and the complex terrain of the Western Cape, increased resolution of climate data is crucial for effective adaptive strategies. Reliable climate data can be costly, and currently requires intensive data validation; hence the study aimed to find an alternative resource to quantify the climate over the spatial extent of the Western Cape, for possible semi-real time applications. This study focused on integrating climate and thermal satellite remote sensing data to assess the reaction of the grapevine to a changing environment. Sites were selected over a spatial climatic band; multiple factor analysis was used to evaluate the interaction of climate with grapevine phenology. The aims of the study were to quantify climate change and seasonal variability in the Western Cape with the best station network possible within the limits of the spatial and temporal resolution availability. The daily mean land surface temperature and weather station temperature data exhibited a strong linear relationship (r = 0.86, p < 0.001) with good prediction accuracy. Simple statistical models where employed, resampling techniques were robust and high accuracy was achieved in the complex terrain of the Western Cape. Land surface temperature maps are intrinsically spatialised, providing daily temperature values that in the past would have only been possible by spatial interpolation of sparse weather station networks, which could only be as accurate as the input data. This study has provided insights into grapevine response, climate shifts, and the potential of thermal satellite products.