Chilling accumulation in fruit trees in Spain under climate change
<p>Growing trees are quite vulnerable to cold temperatures. To minimise the effect of these cold temperatures, they stop their growth over the coldest months of the year, a state called dormancy. In particular, endodormancy requires accumulating chilling temperatures to finish this sort of dor...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2019-05-01
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| Series: | Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences |
| Online Access: | https://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/19/1087/2019/nhess-19-1087-2019.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>Growing trees are quite vulnerable to cold temperatures. To minimise the
effect of these cold temperatures, they stop their growth over the coldest
months of the year, a state called dormancy. In particular, endodormancy
requires accumulating chilling temperatures to finish this sort of dormancy.
The accumulation of cool temperatures according to specific rules is called
chilling accumulation, and each tree species and variety has specific
chilling requirements for correct plant development. Under global warming, it
is expected that the fulfilment of the chilling requirements to break
dormancy in fruit trees could be compromised. In this study, the impact of
climate change on the chilling accumulation over peninsular Spain and the
Balearic Islands was assessed. For this purpose, bias-adjusted results of 10
regional climate models (RCMs) under Representative Concentration Pathways
(RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5 were used as inputs of four different models for
calculating chilling accumulation, and the results for each model were
individually compared for the 2021–2050 and 2071–2100 future periods under
both RCPs. These results project a generalised reduction in chilling
accumulation regardless of the RCP, future period or chilling calculation
model used, with higher reductions for the 2071–2100 period and the RCP8.5
scenario. The projected winter chill decrease may threaten the viability of
some tree crops and varieties in some areas where the crop is currently
grown, but also shows scope for varieties with lower chilling requirements.
The results are relevant for planning future tree plantations under climate
change, supporting adaptation of spatial distribution of tree crops and
varieties in Spain.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 1561-8633 1684-9981 |