Improvement of local ozone phytotoxicity modelling for autochthonous grape cultivars

The grapevine is a key crop for Mediterranean environments and is both sensitive to climate warming and air pollutants, of which ozone is the most damaging to crop yield and quality. Ambient ozone effects on the grapevine have been noticed since the late fifties but risk assessments are still impaired by the lack of information concerning differences in cultivar sensitivity, and adaptation capacity to environmental factors including drought conditions. This study develops a specific parametrization for autochthonous grape cultivars within a leaf-level stomatal flux model, the DO3SE model, coupled with a meteorological and atmospheric chemical transport modelling system, the WRF-CHIMERE, by using a renowned wine producing area, the Douro wine region of Portugal, as case study. The DO3SE model parametrization introduced in this study included phenology, photosynthetic active radiation, air temperature, air vapour pressure deficit, and leaf water potential as a proxy of soil water content. The modelling experiments, which included simulations with the current default Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution DO3SE parametrization and with the proposed parametrization, covered a reference grapevine growing season (from April to September 2017), during which a measuring campaign was carried out. Simulation results show that the proposed parametrization succeeded to replicate the observed grapevine leaf-level stomatal flux gradient in the region. Both field and modified DO3SE model values indicate that considerable areas in the Douro wine region of Portugal can exceed critical phytotoxic ozone dose (POD) values, although with a lower and different spatial extent when compared to the default DO3SE parametrization for the grapevine. However, under irrigated conditions, the POD values increase, and the values are close to those obtained with the default parametrization. Overall, the research results indicate that air quality management, in particular the reduction of ozone levels in the ambient air, must also be considered to define sustainable grape and wine production strategies in the context of climate and wine production management change.