Differences in metabolic and physiological responses between local and widespread grapevine cultivars underwater deficit stress

Climate change forecasts suggest temperature increases and lower rainfall rates, both of which challenge viticulture, particularly in semi-arid areas where water availability is critical. In this scenario, tlx-use of tlx-genetic variability in grapevine varieties reported around the world represents an important strategy for the selection of climate-resilient cultivars. In this work, physiological and metabolomics analyses were conducted to Compare the water deficit stress (VVIJS) responses of red and white, local and widespread grapevines cultivars. Leaf gas exchange, water use efficiency (WUK) and water relation parameters were determined in plants under well-watered and WDS conditions alongside assessment of the levels of foliar primary metabolites using gas-chromatography coupled to mass-spectrometry. Results denote that red and white local cultivars displayed more adapted physiological performance under WDS as Compared to the widely-distributed ones. Multivariate analyses and specific changes in leaf primary metabolites indicate genotype-specific responses of local cultivars as Compared to widespread ones. Differences in ascorbate-related and shikimate/phenylpropanoid metabolism could explain the better physiological performance under WDS in red local as Compared to widespread cultivars. On the other hand, coordinated changes in respiratory- A nd stress-related sugars and amino acids Could underlie the better WUK under WDS in tlx-white local Cultivar. All these results suggest several metabolic targets that Could be useful as metabolic markers or for metabolic engineering in grapevine breeding programs to improve drought tolerance

Efficiency of water usage in plants

La disponibilidad de agua es el principal factor limitante de la producción agrícola y ganadera en ambientes de clima mediterráneo. Limitación que, ante las previsiones de Cambio Climático Global realizadas por organismo internacionales, serán mucho mayores en los próximos años. En este escenario, la eficiencia en el uso de los recursos hídricos debe ser un aspecto transversal de las políticas públicas que debe, por tanto, ser afrontado desde diversos puntos de vista. En este sentido, uno de los temas claves a considerar es la eficiencia con la que las plantas usan el agua. El objetivo de este trabajo es hacer una revisión de los diferentes aspectos relacionados con este tema, considerando las diferentes escalas a las que se estudia la eficiencia en el uso del agua por las plantas (EUA), desde la hoja hasta el cultivo o el ecosistema. Así, se abordan las dificultades técnicas que existen para medir, de una forma precisa, la EUA de un cultivo o de un ecosistema, la importancia del ambiente y de las prácticas agronómicas como determinantes de la EUA, la diversidad genética inter e intraespecífica, y las implicaciones prácticas de estos factores a la hora de incrementar la EUA.Water availability is the most important limiting factor in plant and animal production under Mediterranean conditions. In a Global Climate Change scenario, this limitation will be even greater in the following years, according to the International Institutions predictions. In this sense, the efficiency of water resources utilization should be a key point of public policies that must be discussed from different points of view. One of these is Plant Water Use Efficiency (WUE). The objective of this paper is to review the different aspects related to WUE, considering the approach levels, from leaf to crop or ecosystem. The technical difficulties to measure accurately WUE at crop or ecosystem level, the environment and agronomical practices importance in WUE determination, the inter and intraspecific plant genetic diversity, as well as the practical implications of each factor to increase WUE are discussed.Los trabajos realizados por el Grup de Biologia de les plantes en condicions mediterrànies sobre eficiencia en el uso del agua forman parte de los proyectos: PRIB-2004-10144, financiado por el Govern de les Illes Balears, e INCO-PERMED (PL 509140), financiado por la Unión Europea

Caracterització del sector agrari de les Illes Balears a partir de criteris agrícoles, forestals i ramaders

[cat] S’estudia el sector agrari de les Illes Balears a partir de criteris forestals, agrícoles i ramaders. Les dades procedeixen de la Política Agrària Comuna, del Servei de Ramaderia, del Servei de Gestió Forestal i Protecció del Sòl i de l’Institut d’Estadística de les Illes Balears. Una vegada elaborada la base de dades, aquesta s’analitza i es millora amb dades precedents d’altres fonts. Per una banda, es corregeix la superfície de l’olivar i la de la vinya per a vinificació. Per altra banda, s’afegeix el cens de reproductores de la raça frisona i el del porc negre. A continuació, es realitza una estadística descriptiva que permet la caracterització del subsector agrícola i del ramader, efectuant una anàlisi més profunda d’aquest darrer, estudiant l’estructura de les explotacions ramaderes de cada espècie, calculant la càrrega ramadera per illes i avaluant l’evolució del cens ramader per espècies i per illes. El subsector agrícola de les Illes Balears presenta una realitat molt diferenciada entre illes, especialment pel que fa als cultius i al nombre i dimensió de les explotacions agrícoles. Mallorca i les Pitiüses tenen una distribució similar respecte als cultius, mentre que a Menorca quasi la totalitat de la superfície agrària es troba destinada a pastures. El subsector ramader de les Illes Balears presenta una realitat molt diferenciada entre illes, pel que fa al cens i al nombre i dimensió de les explotacions ramaderes. A més, l’evolució del cens és molt diferent entre espècies, disminuint a totes, a excepció de l’equí.[eng] The agricultural sector of the Balearic Islands is studied on the basis of forestry, agricultural and livestock criteria. The origin of the data is Common Agricultural Policy, Cattle Service, Forest Management and Soil Protection Service, and Statistical Institute of the Balearic Islands. Once the database is prepared, it is analyzed and improved with data from other sources. On the one hand, it corrects the surface pf the olive grove and vineyard for wine making. On the other hand, is added to the players the Frisian and the Black Pig. Next, a descriptive statistic is made that allows the characterization of the agricultural sub-sector and the cattle rancher, making a deeper analysis of the latter, studying the structure of the cattle of every kind, calculating the livestock load for islands and evaluating the evolution of the livestock census for spices and islands. The agricultural sub-sector of the Balearic Islands has a distinct reality islands, especially with regard to crops and to the number and size of the farms. Majorca and Pitiüses Islands have a similar distribution with respect to crops. Almost all the agricultural surface of Menorca is destined to pastures. The livestock sub-sector of the Balearic Islands has a distinct reality islands, as of the census and the number and size of the farms. The evolution of the livestock census is very different between species, diminishing at all except for the horses

Caracterització municipal del sector agrari de les Illes Balears. Evolució del subsector agrícola de l'illa de Mallorca (2002-2015)

[cat] S’estudia el sector agrari de les Illes Balears a partir de les dades de l’any 2015 procedents de la Política Agrària Comuna (PAC), del Servei de Ramaderia, del Servei de Gestió Forestal i Protecció del Sòl, del Registre Vitícola de les Illes Balears i les superfícies del cultiu de l'olivera procedents del Sistema d'Identificació Geogràfica de Parcel·les Agrícoles (SIGPAC Oleícola). En aquest treball es combina l'anàlisi multivariant, Clúster i Components Principals (PCA), amb la tecnologia aportada pel Sistema d'Informació Geogràfica (GIS), obtenint una eina molt útil per a la presa de decisions en benefici del sector. A partir de les dades a escala municipal de l'ús del sòl, vegetació natural i censos ramaders, es realitza una anàlisi Clúster i els resultats obtinguts es representen en un dendrograma, el que permet agrupar els municipis amb similars característiques i posteriorment generar mapes amb aquests resultats. Les anàlisis es realitzen de cada illa, i de forma conjunta amb tots els municipis de l’arxipèlag. Per altra banda, a partir de les dades de l’illa de Mallorca de la Política Agrària Comuna de l’any 2002, juntament amb les de l’any 2015 es realitza una estadística descriptiva per estudiar l’evolució del subsector agrícola. Les principals diferències entre municipis responen principalment a la seva importància ramadera, especialment en Unitats de Bestiar Gros (UBG). Finalment, les diferències entre les superfícies conreades a l’any 2002 i 2015 responen bàsicament a canvis normatius a la Política Agrària Comuna (PAC)

Lignocellulosic biomass production and persistence of perennial grass species grown in mediterranean marginal lands

© 2021 by the authors.Biomass production in marginal lands represents one of the most challenging and promising alternatives to sustainably produce biofuels. Native species seem to be the most adequate option to obtain a profitable output when low-input techniques are applied, and biomass is grown in depleted soils and harsh climatic conditions. In this study, a 5-year field trial in the island of Majorca served to investigate different autochthonous and naturalized Mediterranean perennial grasses as novel candidate lignocellulosic bioenergy crops for the semi-arid Mediterranean area and compare them with commercial ones (both Mediterranean and non-Mediterranean). Species and growing season had a significant effect on biomass production, perennialism and biomass quality. Arundo donax (winter crops) and Piptatherum miliaceum (autumn crops) performed better than the commercial species tested (Panicum virgatum for winter crops and Festuca arundinacea for autumn crops) in biomass production and perennialism. In terms of biomass quality, Panicum virgatum was the best species, having high structural content (mainly cellulose and hemicellulose), low non-structural content and the lowest ash. However, Ampelodesmos mauritanicus and Arundo donax rendered similar results, with no significant difference in terms of cellulose production for this latter but with higher lignin content. For the autumn species, Festuca arundinacea was the species with the best biomass quality but with the highest ash production for all the species considered. Hence, both for winter or autumn regimes, native or naturalized plants seem to be better suited than the commercial commonly used for biomass production with energy-producing purposes. Further research must be conducted in terms of seed biology and physiology, seedbed preparation methods, sowing time, seedling density and weed control before they can firmly be proposed as adequate alternatives for energy purposes.This research work was funded by the FP7 OPTIMA project “Optimization of Perennial Grasses for Biomass production (Grant Agreement 289642)”

Ecophysiology of the endemic plants of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean context

Muchas de las especies endémicas del mediterráneo occidental habitan preferentemente ambientes rocosos, abiertos, con elevado grado de estrés y baja competencia interespecífica. En el caso de las Islas Baleares, a esta dimensión geológico-edáfica característica del endemismo mediterráneo, se le suma la dimensión de aislamiento geográfico. Para cualquiera de estas dos dimensiones, geológico-edáfica y geográfica, resulta sorprendente la escasez de estudios que apunten a factores fisiológicos como causantes generales de la limitada distribución de las especies endémicas. Esta escasez de evidencias sugiere que la distribución de endemismos de Baleares en su dimensión geográfica viene limitada principalmente por filtros históricos, mientras que su dimensión geológico-edáfica se adecuaría a la hipótesis de ‘refugio’. Según esta hipótesis, las especies endémicas habitan únicamente ambientes en los que su elevado grado de estrés excluye la presencia de especies generalistas. La baja competencia interespecífica en estos ambientes permite la supervivencia de algunas especies endémicas con rasgos específicos, que resultarían desfavorables fuera del ambiente en el que habitan. Finalmente, se demuestra mediante el análisis de tres casos concretos de endemicidad (Crepis triasii, Lysimachia minoricensis y Digitalis minor), que la hipotética baja plasticidad fenotípica de las especies endémicas no es generalizable, y que algunos endemismos de Baleares presentan una elevada capacidad de adaptación a las condiciones cambiantes del medio, en especial en relación a la disponibilidad hídrica. Un mejor conocimiento de las bases fisiológicas de la falta de éxito ecológico de las especies endémicas es esencial para una correcta gestión de la biodiversidad.Many endemic species in the West Mediterranean usually inhabit rocky, open, and highly stressful environments with low interespecific competition. In the Balearic Islands, in addition to such geologic-edaphic dimension, endemic species are subject to geographic isolation. Regardless of these two constraints, geologic-edaphic distribution and geographic restriction, studies reporting physiological factors as being the general causes of the limited distribution of endemic species are scarce. This fact suggests that the geographic distribution of endemisms of the Balearic Islands is mainly limited by historical filters, whereas their habitat distribution would fit a ‘refugee hypothesis’, i.e. the endemic species only inhabit environments whose high level of stress excludes the presence of generalist species. The low interespecific competence in these environments permits the survivorship of certain endemic species with particular traits, which would be potentially disadvantageous in other environments. Finally, the analysis of three specific cases of endemicity (Crepis triasii, Lysimachia minoricensis and Digitalis minor) illustrates that low phenotypic plasticity of endemic species is not a general trend, and that some of the Balearic endemisms present a high capacity to adapt to changing environments, in particular to water stress. An improved knowledge of the physiological basis for the lack of ecological success of endemic species may be necessary as a tool for a correct management of biodiversity in these areas

Differences in metabolic and physiological responses between local and widespread grapevine cultivars underwater deficit stress

Climate change forecasts suggest temperature increases and lower rainfall rates, both of which challenge viticulture, particularly in semi-arid areas where water availability is critical. In this scenario, tlx-use of tlx-genetic variability in grapevine varieties reported around the world represents an important strategy for the selection of climate-resilient cultivars. In this work, physiological and metabolomics analyses were conducted to Compare the water deficit stress (VVIJS) responses of red and white, local and widespread grapevines cultivars. Leaf gas exchange, water use efficiency (WUK) and water relation parameters were determined in plants under well-watered and WDS conditions alongside assessment of the levels of foliar primary metabolites using gas-chromatography coupled to mass-spectrometry. Results denote that red and white local cultivars displayed more adapted physiological performance under WDS as Compared to the widely-distributed ones. Multivariate analyses and specific changes in leaf primary metabolites indicate genotype-specific responses of local cultivars as Compared to widespread ones. Differences in ascorbate-related and shikimate/phenylpropanoid metabolism could explain the better physiological performance under WDS in red local as Compared to widespread cultivars. On the other hand, coordinated changes in respiratory- A nd stress-related sugars and amino acids Could underlie the better WUK under WDS in tlx-white local Cultivar. All these results suggest several metabolic targets that Could be useful as metabolic markers or for metabolic engineering in grapevine breeding programs to improve drought tolerance

Influence of non-irrigation and seasonality on wine colour, phenolic composition and sensory quality of a grapevine (Vitis vinifera cv. callet) in a mediterranean climate

Most vineyards in Mediterranean areas are cultivated using a training system and drip irrigation. However, the increasing risk of water deficit stress due to global warming will mean that viticulture need to adapt to a tougher water-saving policy. Thus, we investigated the effects of total suppression of irrigation on a grapevine (Vitis vinifera cv. Callet) and the phenolic composition and sensory quality of this native red variety wine from the Balearic Islands over three seasons. Significant yield reductions of up to 15.6%, 17.2% and 22.2% were observed in non-irrigated (NI) plants in 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively, compared to irrigated plants (I); however, wine quality parameters improved. In the years with the highest rainfall (715 mm in 2016 and 799 mm in 2017), NI favoured the enrichment of sugars, anthocyanins and phenolic compounds in the wine and enhanced the development of aromatic components. However, with lower rainfall (524 mm in 2018), the NI treatment appeared to diminish the quality of the wine, particularly affecting the global sensory quality of the wines. Thus, development of specific water strategies tailored to the vineyard, year, vintage and grape variety may regulate the phenolic composition of red wines to meet production goals and reduce total water consumption.The authors wish to thank the staff of Finca Can Axartell S.L. for their support in all the field and winery work