Strategies for adapting maize to climate change and extreme temperatures in Andalusia, Spain

Climate projections indicate that rising temperatures will affect summer crops in the southern Iberian Peninsula. The aim of this study was to obtain projections of the impacts of rising temperatures, and of higher frequency of extreme events on irrigated maize, and to evaluate some adaptation strategies. The study was conducted at several locations in Andalusia using the CERESMaize crop model, previously calibrated/validated with local experimental datasets. The simulated climate consisted of projections from regional climate models from the ENSEMBLES project; these were corrected for daily temperature and precipitation with regard to the E-OBS observational dataset. These bias-corrected projections were used with the CERES-Maize model to generate future impacts. Crop model results showed a decrease in maize yield by the end of the 21st century from 6 to 20%, a decrease of up to 25% in irrigation water requirements, and an increase in irrigation water productivity of up to 22%, due to earlier maturity dates and stomatal closure caused by CO2 increase. When adaptation strategies combining earlier sowing dates and cultivar changes were considered, impacts were compensated, and maize yield increased up to 14%, compared with the baseline period (1981−2010), with similar reductions in crop irrigation water requirements. Effects of extreme maximum temperatures rose to 40% at the end of the 21st century, compared with the baseline. Adaptation resulted in an overall reduction in extreme Tmax damages in all locations, with the exception of Granada, where losses were limited to 8%.JRC.H.7-Climate Risk Managemen

Salinity tolerance of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica: recommendations to minimize the impact of brine discharges from desalination plants

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Physiological and morphological responces of Brachiaria spp. to flooding Respostas morfológicas e fisiológicas de Brachiaria spp. ao alagamento do solo

The physiological and morphological responses of the forage grasses Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu, B. decumbens and B. humidicola were compared for plants grown in pots under flooding and well-drained conditions for 14 days. Flooding reduced specific leaf area and biomass allocation to roots in all species and enhanced leaf senescence in B. brizantha and B. decumbens. Relative growth rate was reduced by flooding in B. brizantha and B. decumbens, but not in B. humidicola.Leaf elongation rate was unaffected by flooding in B. decumbens and B. humidicola, but declined in B. brizantha since the first day of flooding. Net photosynthesis and leaf chlorophyll content were reduced by flooding in B. brizantha; however, no flooding effect could be detected in the other two species. For all species, there was a close relationship between net photosynthesis and stomatal conductance under flooding. These results show that the studied species have distinct degrees of tolerance to flood, B. brizantha is intolerant, B. decumbens is moderately tolerant and B. humidicola is tolerant. Because leaf elongation rate was immediately depressed by flooding only in B. brizantha, this measurement could be appropriate as an early detection mechanism for relative flood tolerance in Brachiaria spp.<br>As respostas morfológicas e fisiológicas de Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu, B. decumbens e B. humidicola foram comparadas em plantas cultivadas em vasos, sob solo alagado e bem drenado durante 14 dias. O alagamento reduziu a área foliar específica e a alocação de biomassa para as raízes em todas as três espécies e aumentou a senescência foliar em B. brizantha e B. decumbens. O alagamento reduziu a taxa de crescimento relativo em B. brizantha e B. decumbens, mas não em B. humidicola. A taxa de elongação foliar não foi afetada pelo alagamento em B. decumbens e B. humidicola, mas diminuiu em B. brizantha desde o primeiro dia de alagamento. A fotossíntese líquida e o conteúdo de clorofila foliar foram reduzidos pelo alagamento em B. brizantha; no entanto, nenhum efeito do alagamento pôde ser detectado nas outras espécies. Em todas as espécies, existiu uma estreita relação entre as taxas de fotossíntese líquida e a condutância estomatal. Esses resultados mostram que as espécies estudadas diferem quanto à tolerância ao alagamento. B. brizantha é intolerante, B. decumbens é moderadamente tolerante e B. humidicola é tolerante. Em virtude de a taxa de elongação foliar ter sido imediatamente afetada somente em B. brizantha, este parâmetro pode ser empregado como um mecanismo de detecção prematura da tolerância ao alagamento em Brachiaria spp

Growth of the crabgrass species Digitaria ciliaris and Digitaria nuda Crescimento das espécies de capim-colchão Digitaria ciliaris e Digitaria nuda

The aim of this research paper was to compare the growth of D. ciliaris and D. nuda crabgrass species under non-competitive conditions. To this end, two experiments were conducted, one from March - July 2010 and the other from February - June 2011. The experimental design of both trials was completely randomized making a factorial (2 seasons x 2 species crabgrass x 12 evaluation periods) with four replications. Assessments began at 15 days after sowing (DAS), and repeated weekly until 92 DAS. The variables evaluated were total dry matter (roots+leaves+stems), leaf area, leaf number and tiller. The results were submitted to analysis of variance and the absolute growth rate, relative growth rate and leaf area ratio were calculated using the means, which were adjusted regression models. The crabgrass species were significantly different in leaf area, leaf number, tiller number and dry matter per plant. D. ciliaris for all variables was statistically higher than D. nuda. Regarding the speed at which the growth of the species occurred, the absolute growth rate and relative growth rate of D. ciliaris was also greater than D. nuda. In addition, D. ciliaris also had a lower leaf area ratio indicating greater efficiency in converting light energy into carbohydrates. It can be concluded that D. ciliaris has a higher growth rate in conditions where there is no limitation of nutrients and water availability in relation to D. nuda, mainly due to D. ciliaris have greater leaf area, number of leaves and dry matter accumulation per plant.<br>O objetivo da presente pesquisa foi comparar o crescimento das espécies de capim colchão D. ciliaris e D. nuda, em condições não-competitivas. Para isso, foram conduzidos dois experimentos, um de março a julho de 2010 e outro de fevereiro a junho de 2011. O delineamento experimental de ambos os ensaios foi inteiramente casualizado, perfazendo um esquema fatorial (2 épocas x 2 espécies de capim colchão x 12 períodos de avaliação), com quatro repetições. As avaliações iniciaram-se aos 15 dias após a semeadura (DAS), e repetidas semanalmente até os 92 DAS. As variáveis avaliadas foram massa seca total (raízes+folhas+colmos), área foliar, número de folhas e de perfilho. Os resultados foram submetidos a análise de variância e com as médias foram calculadas a taxa de crescimento absoluto, taxa de crescimento relativo e a razão de área foliar, as quais foram ajustadas a modelos de regressão. As espécies de capim-colchão diferiram entre si quanto a área foliar, numero de folhas, número de perfilho e matéria seca por planta. D. ciliaris para todas as variáveis obteve média estatisticamente superior em relação a D. nuda. Em relação à velocidade com que o crescimento das espécies ocorreu, a taxa de crescimento absoluto e relativo de D. ciliaris também foi superior a D. nuda. Além disso, D. ciliaris também teve menor razão de área foliar indicando maior eficiência na conversão de energia luminosa em carboidratos. Pode-se concluir que D. ciliaris apresentar maior crescimento, em condições onde não há limitações de nutrientes e disponibilidade hídrica, em relação a D. nuda principalmente por apresentar maior área foliar, numero de folhas e acúmulo de matéria seca por planta