Analysis of micrometeorological conditions in Piedmontese vineyards

Grapevine environment has been studied, in recent years, to provide useful information to support and improve crop management and wine–making. In order to investigate vineyards micrometeorological factors and microclimate, an experimental campaign was carried out during the 2008, 2009 and 2010 vegetative seasons in three Piedmontese vineyards, each one characterized by same climatic but different microclimatic conditions, in which measurements of a wide number of variables were performed. Energy and mass exchange processes were analyzed over these vineyards located in complex terrain, providing a complete dataset of observations not commonly performed within vineyards. The results have evidenced that most variables exhibit similar behaviors, from a general point of view, but peculiar differences exist, when the three sites are compared with each other. These differences are small, in general, but sufficient to significantly affect energy and hydrological budgets. Considering also terrain differences, micrometeorological variables may strongly affect grape ripening and quality. In the actual context of changing climate, such kind of observations can constitute a starting point for assessing climatic effects on grapevine production.