Modelling the impact of climate change on the productivity and water-use efficiency of a central European beech forest

In the Mediterranean region, climate change is intensifying the need to improve the resource use efficiency of crops (e.g. water use efficiency) and to increase yield, quality and stability of productions, especially in high profitability and vulnerable crops as grapevine. In a climate change scenario, with increasing temperature and frequency of extreme events, such as prolonged periods of drought, the improvement of knowledge about the plasticity of morpho-functional traits in vines, becomes pivotal. Only a deep knowledge of vine responses to environmental constraints can help achieving the correct management of cultivation factors towards sustainability.The objective of this study is to apply a multidisciplinary approach for monitoring the resource use efficiency and resource allocation during vine development up to wine production. This general objective will be pursued by analysing the complex relationships between parameters in the continuum environment/plant/wine with specific emphasis on the influence of water availability on the vine, grapes, must and finally wine, in order to relate climate, plant water status and oenological characteristics.The study was conducted in a vineyard of Vitis vinifera L. subsp. vinifera &#8216;Falanghina&#8217; located in southern Italy (La Guardiense farm, Guardia Sanframondi, Benevento, Campania region).The vineyard performance was monitored on the basis of several morphological and eco-physiological parameters, measured in the main phenological phases, including: plant architecture, fertility, leaf anatomical traits, photosynthetic efficiency, leaf gas exchanges, nutritional status, berry and must quality. Water use efficiency was estimated through the analysis of anatomical and stable isotope traits (linked with hydraulic and resource efficiency parameters) from tree-ring series and leaf samples. Stable isotopes were also analysed in the must, in order to check the occurrence of an isotopic signature from the plants towards the must.The approach proved to be promising for achieving a comprehensive understanding on the impact of environmental constraints not only on plant behaviour, but also on the characteristics of the oenological products, furnishing at the same time a promising tool to reconstruct vine status from the isotopic trace in the must.&#160;

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Virtual water trade flows and savings under climate change

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/hessd-10-67-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 67-101 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

M. Konar ◽

Z. Hussein ◽

N. Hanasaki ◽

D. L. Mauzerall ◽

I. Rodriguez-Iturbe

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Virtual Water ◽

Hydrologic Model ◽

Trade Flows ◽

Virtual Water Trade ◽

Food Trade ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

The Impact

Abstract. The international trade of food commodities links water and food systems, with important implications for both water and food security. The embodied water resources associated with food trade are referred to as "virtual water trade". We present the first study of the impact of climate change on global virtual water trade flows and associated savings for the year 2030. In order to project virtual water trade under climate change, it is essential to obtain projections of both bilateral crop trade and the water-use efficiency of crops in each country of production. We use the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) to estimate bilateral crop trade flows under changes in agricultural productivity. We use the H08 global hydrologic model to estimate the water-use efficiency of each crop in each country of production and to transform crop flows into virtual water flows. We find that the total volume of virtual water trade is likely to go down under climate change. However, the staple food trade is projected to save more water across most climate impact scenarios, largely because the wheat trade re-organizes into a more water-efficient structure. These findings indicate that trade may be an adaptation measure to climate change with ramifications for policy.

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Open Intellectual Property Models for Plant Innovations in the Context of New Breeding Technologies

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11061218 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 1218

Author(s):

Michael A. Kock

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Food Security ◽

Intellectual Property ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Open Innovation ◽

Climate Resilience ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

Mitigate Climate Change ◽

New Breeding Technologies

Plant related innovations are critical to enable of food security and mitigate climate change. New breeding technologies (NBTs) based on emerging genome editing technologies like CRISPR/Cas will facilitate “breeding-by-editing” and enable complex breeding targets—like climate resilience or water use efficiency—in shorter time and at lower costs. However, NBTs will also lead to an unprecedented patent complexity. This paper discusses implications and potential solutions for open innovation models.

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Effects of climate change and local environmental factors on long-term tree water-use efficiency and growth of Pseudolarix amabilis and Cryptomeria japonica in subtropical China

Journal of Soils and Sediments ◽

10.1007/s11368-020-02829-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tengjiao Liu ◽

Yan Xu ◽

Zhihong Xu ◽

Hongbing Deng

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Cryptomeria Japonica ◽

Subtropical China ◽

Tree Water Use ◽

Use Efficiency

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Calcium and Potassium Nutrition Increases the Water Use Efficiency in Coffee: A Promising Strategy to Adapt to Climate Change

Hydrology ◽

10.3390/hydrology8020075 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 75

Author(s):

Victor Hugo Ramírez-Builes ◽

Jürgen Küsters

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Variability ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Adaptation Strategies ◽

Caribbean Region ◽

Coffee Production ◽

Use Efficiency

Coffee (Coffea spp.) represents one of the most important sources of income and goods for the agricultural sector in Central America, Colombia, and the Caribbean region. The sustainability of coffee production at the global and regional scale is under threat by climate change, with a major risk of losing near to 50% of today’s suitable area for coffee by 2050. Rain-fed coffee production dominates in the region, and under increasing climate variability and climate change impacts, these production areas are under threat due to air temperature increase and changes in rainfall patterns and volumes. Identification, evaluation, and implementation of adaptation strategies for growers to cope with climate variability and change impacts are relevant and high priority. Incremental adaptation strategies, including proper soil and water management, contribute to improved water use efficiency (WUE) and should be the first line of action to adapt the coffee crop to the changing growing conditions. This research’s objective was to evaluate at field level over five years the influence of fertilization with calcium (Ca+2) and potassium (K+) on WUE in two coffee arabica varieties: cv. Castillo and cv. Caturra. Castillo has resistance against coffee leaf rust (CLR) (Hemileia vastatrix Verkeley and Brome), while Caturra is not CLR-resistant. WUE was influenced by yield changes during the years by climate variability due to El Niño–ENSO conditions and CLR incidence. Application of Ca+2 and K+ improved the WUE under such variable conditions. The highest WUE values were obtained with an application of 100 kg CaO ha−1 year−1 and between 180 to 230 kg K2O ha−1 year−1. The results indicate that adequate nutrition with Ca+2 and K+ can improve WUE in the long-term, even underwater deficit conditions and after the substantial incidence. Hence, an optimum application of Ca+2 and K+ in rain-fed coffee plantations can be regarded as an effective strategy to adapt to climate variability and climate change.

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