Winegrape phenology and temperature relationships in the Lisbon wine region, Portugal

Abstract

<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Aim</strong>: To investigate the characteristics, relationships and trends in the phenology of four winegrape varieties and associated temperature relationships in the Lisbon wine region (LWR), between 1990 and 2011.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Methods and results</strong>: Budburst, flowering and véraison dates of red (Castelão and Aragonez, syn. Tempranillo) and white (Chasselas and Fernão Pires) varieties were taken from an experimental vineyard in the LWR. Harvest dates were determined based on a similar maturity level for all varieties. From these data, varietal characteristics, temporal trends as well as relationships between phenology and temperature were assessed through stepwise multivariate linear regressions. Flowering was the most sensitive to temperature in the preceding months (March-April). Differences/similarities between the phenological timing of the different varieties are presented. With few exceptions, no trends were found in phenophases over the 1990-2011 period, whereas several significant negative slopes were displayed for phenological intervals, suggesting a role for accumulated thermal effects in phenological timing. Strong correlations were observed between phenophases, especially between flowering and véraison.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Conclusion</strong>: The study highlights the key role played by temperature on phenology, particularly during springtime. Furthermore, an increase in temperature during that period will cause an advance in the timing of the following phenological events. Given the significant trends found, phenological shifts may occur in the long term, emphasizing the need to assess varietal characteristics and responses to regional climate.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Significance and impact of the study</strong>: The present work is the first attempt to systematically examine temporal trends in phenology and corresponding relationships with temperature in a Portuguese viticultural area, providing valuable information on the development and suitability of grapevine varieties, which determine viticultural practices and winegrower’s income.</p>

Examining the relationship between the Enhanced Vegetation Index and grapevine phenology

“…On the other hand, for VER, this metric can be used as a real-time tool in estimating VER timings, allowing growers to improve their planning of management activities. Additionally, as several studies point to air/soil temperature as the main leading factor for the advances/ delays of the phenological stages [Webb et al, 2012;Malheiro et al, 2013], DTP could also prove to be a very useful indicator for monitoring the impacts of future climates in Portuguese viticulture [Andrade et al, 2014;Fraga et al, 2014b]. In our study, the grapevine growth profile differs in each year, with different peak greenness and growth rates.…”

“…The intervals between these events also show some variability, with FLO-VER being the longest interphase (71 ± 7 days) and VER-HAR the shortest (47 ± 9 days). These differences in the timings and intervals of the phenological stages can be largely attributed to inter-annual variability in the atmospheric conditions [Jones et al, 2005;Malheiro et al, 2013;Sadras and Moran, 2012]. A one-way ANOVA multiple comparison test shows that there are no statistically significant differences between the mean timings of each variety (at a 5% confidence level).…”

“…Nonetheless, there is an inherent natural variability in the inter-annual timings of each variety (Tab. 2), which can be mostly attributed to genetic factors and environmental effects, such as climate, soil and viticultural practices [Petrie and Sadras, 2008;Magalhães, 2008;Malheiro et al, 2013]. …”

Drought reconstruction based on grape harvest dates for the Czech Lands, 1499-2012

“…We detected a statistically significant trend towards earlier GHDs, higher total potential evapotranspiration and mean temperatures. A trend towards earlier maturity of wine grapes has been observed in several countries as a result of recent climate change (Webb et al 2011, Malheiro et al 2013, Vršič et al 2014). Earlier maturity of wine grapes has been associated with increasing temperature and decreasing soil water content during the growing season in Australia (Webb et al 2012), but this conclusion was apparently inconsistent with long-term trends of annual rainfall (White 2013).…”

Estimativa das datas de brotação, plena floração e colheita da videira variedade Goethe em Urussanga-SC, Brasil

“…A temperatura é um dos fatores microclimáticos primários relacionados com a fenologia da videira (Malheiro et al, 2013), com influência preponderante durante a dormência (Boeno, 2014), sobre as taxas de crescimento e desenvolvimento da área foliar (Keller e Tarara, 2010), das flores e dos frutos (Vasconcelos et al, 2009). É também responsável por variações anuais de rendimento e de qualidade (Martinez-Luscher et al, 2016).…”