Multi-seasonal effects of warming and elevated CO2 on the physiology, growth and production of mature, field grown, Shiraz grapevines

Abstract

Abstract: Industry concerns in Australia about the impacts of climate change have, to date, focused on the effects of warming, particularly shorter maturation periods. The effects of elevated CO2 concentration (eCO2) on C3 plant physiology have been extensively studied and suggest that eCO2 impacts on viticulture could affect grapevine shoot growth, fruit production and fruit composition. We previously used open top chambers (OTC) with an active heating system to study the effects of elevated air temperature (eTemp) on mature grapevines in the field. This system was augmented with the ability to elevate atmospheric CO2 and established in a mature Shiraz vineyard in a factorial combination of eTemp and eCO2. Three seasons of observations on the eTemp only treatment corroborated our previous study; all aspects of phenology were advanced, but leaf function was largely unaffected. In contrast, the effects of eCO2 on phenology were small in the first season, but increased over the subsequent two seasons. Interactive effects of the treatments on gas exchange were observed; photosynthesis rates were significantly higher in the eCO2+eTemp treatment, compared to eCO2 alone, suggesting that the likely future climate will have a larger impact on viticulture than might be predicted from experiments examining only one of these factors.