Landscape is a highly dynamic process in which the protection of historic rural landscapes (H.R.L.) clashes with the need to innovate production processes. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry (MIPAAF now MASAF)establishedthe National Observatory and the National Register of H.R.L. in 2012,to protect the still “living” landscapes that have preserved on at least 50 percent of the territory the land uses prevailing in the immediate post-World War II period. The internal hills of Mandrolisai (NU, Italy) are home to two of the three H.R.L. present in Sardinia. Their significance is based on environmental (high elevation and thickening of vineyards on the outskirts of rural hamlets, e.g.) and agronomic characteristics, such as their small average area, the persistence of the traditional form of training (“alberello”, little tree or gobelet), and the use of native grape varieties. The diachronic analysis of aerial images showed the maintenance of active land uses in the post-World War II period (images from 1954 vs. 2016 or 2019) in 52.6 percent of the 2,363 hectares in the first certified area and 65.7 percent of the 417 hectares recognized in the second, respectively. The two areas, united by progressive depopulation, showed a reduction in “gobelet” vineyards, but these maintained their spatial location.

The projected warmer temperatures, together with the expected increase in seasonal dryness, frequency, and intensity of extreme climate events during sensitive phenological phases, may have strong effects on the regions’ suitability for grapevine cultivation determining a shift from currently suitable areas toward new ones. Furthermore, shortening phenological advancement is expected to affect the ripening period negatively, by affecting biochemical and physiological processes and thus impacting berry sugar-acid and flavonoid levels, colour, and aroma, especially for early ripening varieties. In this research, multiple climate, soil, topography, and land use data are analyzed and integrated into a multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) to classify suitable areas for grapevine according to FAO classification under actual and future climate conditions. In particular, through the adoption of machine learning techniques, some specific qualitative targets (BRIX, acidity, polyphenol content), functional to obtaining specific oenological objectives will be analyzed. The analysis is focused on the Cannonau terroir, in the region of Sardinia (Italy), and in particular the qualitative target data for land suitability model calibration and validation will be acquired from three wine cellars collecting production from single farmers located in three bioclimatic areas that can be considered as representatives of the whole Sardinia region (Nurra, Barbagia and Parteolla, located respectively in North-west, Center and South of Sardinia). A set of 8 bioclimatic, 5 pedological, and 3 topographic indicators with 1 land cover classification was selected and then divided into a range of values, according to the literature, each of which was associated with a suitability class (FAO). Bioclimatic indicators are obtained by the analysis of current and future climate scenarios from the regionalized climate models downscaled for the whole of Italy at 2.2 km spatial resolution. Considering main and secondary relevant and explanatory criteria with a hierarchical structure, after statistical autocorrelation analysis, different weights will be assigned, calculated, and associated with each factor using the analytical hierarchy (AHP) process and machine learning methods, depending on the importance of each factor in achieving specific production targets according to expert knowledge and literature. The performance of machine learning and statistical inference to define suitability as a function of environmental and bioclimatic characteristics (ANN, Random Forest, MaxEnt, Support Vector Machines), will be subsequently compared to GIS-based results to assess its applicability. The field measurements will be carried out in the pilot sites located in the north, center, and south of Sardinia and will be useful for obtaining pedological, phenological, and qualitative data for the calibration and validation of the model. This work aims to provide an assessment of the spatial variability of the environmental factors that drive terroir distribution, to preserve vineyard production and quality in a changing climate. The research is also a methodological contribution, with the integration of a machine learning approach to the multicriterial land suitability analysis techniques.

Through highly detailed data acquisition, a precision agriculture approach leads to the optimization of inputs, improving, for instance, water and nutrient use efficiency. High-resolution vigor mapping in perennial orchards provides the spatial detail required to achieve such targeted management. This exploratory case study characterizes the spatial variability of vegetative vigor in a young SHD almond orchard in southern Sardinia by integrating high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) mapping with two consecutive seasons of ground measurements; the NDVI raster was subsequently used to delineate three distinct vigor zones. The NDVI was selected as a reference index because of its well-assessed performance in field-variability studies. Field measurements, during the kernel-filling period, included physiological assessments (stem water potential (Ψstem), SPAD, photosynthetic rates), morphological evaluations, soil properties, yield, and quality analyses. High vigor zones exhibited better physiological conditions (Ψstem = −1.60 MPa in 2023, SPAD = 38.77 in 2022), and greater photosynthetic rates (15.31 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1 in 2023), alongside more favorable soil conditions. Medium vigor zones showed intermediate characteristics, and balanced soil textures, producing a higher number of smaller almonds. Low vigor zones exhibited the poorest performance, including the most negative water status (Ψstem of −1.94 MPa in 2023), lower SPAD values (30.67 in 2023), and coarse-textured soils, leading to reduced yields. By combining UAV-based NDVI mapping with ground measurements, these results highlight the value of precision agriculture in intra-field variability identification, providing a basis for future studies that will test site-specific management strategies in SHD orchards.

Future climate changes will likely alter the length and timing of phenological phases of olive crop. The timing and management of agronomic practices (planting, irrigation, fertilization, crop protection, harvesting, etc.) are based on phenological phases and plant development. Consequently, accurate phenological assessments are essential to define climate risks and guide optimal management apt to mitigate climate change effects on olive development. This research highlights future changes in olive phenological phases (i.e., sprouting, blooming, and pit hardening) over the Euro-Mediterranean region for both early and mid-late budbreak cultivars. We apply a Chill, Anti-Chill, and Growing Degree Days combined model to project the timing of phenological phases based on an ensemble of high-resolution climate projections at 0.11(degrees) from EURO-CORDEX (Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment) for historical (1976-2005) and future (2036-2065) periods under three emission scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5). The results showed that more than 75 % of the study area would experience significant earlier phenological development for olive by 2050, with 5-10 days earlier relative advancement for RCP8.5 compared to other RCPs. We projected greater olive phenological advances (i.e.,>20 days) within colder areas due to persistent chilling and increasing heating units following future warming condition, indicating climate suitability for olive growth, while the southern Mediterranean is still facing high potential phenological disturbance induced by advances of 10-25 days. Future differences in phenological earliness between the cultivars (5-15 days) demonstrate the vulnerability of the early cultivar in the Mediterranean despite consistent thermal suitability for the mid-late cultivar in northern Europe and colder zones. Our investigation highlights regional phenological modeling processes relevant to guide strategic management of olive cultivation under future changing climate.

Under a future changing climate, the Mediterranean is considered a region extremely prone to global warming and intensified climate events, which will possibly change the timing of phenological phases and alter conditions and risks for olive tree growth. This situation may restrict olive cultivation which is economically strategic in the Mediterranean countries. Since, the timing and management of agronomic practices (planting, irrigation, fertilization, crop protection, harvesting, etc.) are based on phenological phases and plant growth, accurate phenological projections are essential to assess climate risks and guide optimal management apt to mitigate climate change effects on olive development. Initially, the present investigation aims to introduce innovative phenological modeling, i.e., Chill, Anti-Chill, and Growing Degree Days combined model (CAC_GDD) applicable in heterogenous areas with limited and scattered observations. Then, we project future changes in olive phenological phases (i.e., sprouting, blooming, and pit hardening) and relevant agro-climate stressors during these phases over the Euro-Mediterranean for both early and mid-late bud break cultivars. For model parametrization and validation, the phenological observations were gathered from nine experimental sites in Italy and temperature time-series from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Reanalysis v5. To project the timing of phenological phases and then calculate the agro-climate stressors we used an ensemble of high-resolution climate projections at 0.11° from EURO-CORDEX (Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment) repository, for two historical (1976-2005) and future (2036-2065) 30-year periods under three emission scenarios (i.e., RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5). The CAC_GDD modeling showed the best performance (RMSE: 4 days) for the blooming phase of mid-late cultivars, suiting similarly and in some cases even better than the more complex model to our experimental conditions. The spatial phenological projection illustrated that at least 75% of the Euro-Mediterranean area will experience significant phenological advances for olive crops. Meanwhile, current olive cultivations in the Mediterranean basin may face accelerated climate extremes mainly at blooming and pit hardening stages in the future. Hence, we expect possible future shifts in olive-growing areas from the Mediterranean to colder regions with more thermal suitability for the mid-late cultivars.

The genetic basis of plant response to light and heat stresses had been unveiled, and different molecular mechanisms of leaf cell homeostasis to keep high physiological performances were recognized in grapevine varieties. However, the ability to develop heat stress tolerance strategies must be further elucidated since the morpho-anatomical and physiological traits involved may vary with genotype × environment combination, stress intensity, and duration. A 3-year experiment was conducted on potted plants of Sardinian red grapevine cultivars Cannonau (syn. Grenache) and Carignano (syn. Carignan), exposed to prolonged heat stress inside a UV-blocking greenhouse, either submitted to low daily UV-B doses of 4.63 kJ m−2 d−1 (+UV) or to 0 kJ m−2 d−1 (−UV), and compared to a control (C) exposed to solar radiation (4.05 kJ m−2 d−1 average UV-B dose). Irrigation was supplied to avoid water stress, and canopy light and thermal microclimate were monitored continuously. Heat stress exceeded one-third of the duration inside the greenhouse and 6% in C. In vivo spectroscopy, including leaf reflectance and fluorescence, allowed for characterizing different patterns of leaf traits and metabolites involved in oxidative stress protection. Cannonau showed lower stomatal conductance under C (200 mmol m−2 s−1) but more than twice the values inside the greenhouse (400 to 900 mmol m−2 s−1), where water use efficiency was reduced similarly in both varieties. Under severe heat stress and −UV, Cannonau showed a sharper decrease in primary photochemical activity and higher leaf pigment reflectance indexes and leaf mass area. UV-B increased the leaf pigments, especially in Carignano, and different leaf cell regulatory traits to prevent oxidative damage were observed in leaf cross-sections. Heat stress induced chloroplast swelling, plastoglobule diffusion, and the accumulation of secretion deposits in both varieties, aggravated in Cannonau −UV by cell vacuolation, membrane dilation, and diffused leaf blade spot swelling. Conversely, in Carignano UV-B, cell wall barriers and calcium oxalate crystals proliferated in mesophyll cells. These responses suggest an adaptive divergence among cultivars to prolonged heat stress and UV-B light. Further research on grapevine biodiversity, heat, and UV-B light interactions may give new insights on the extent of stress tolerance to improve viticulture adaptive strategies in climate change hotspots.

Due to its high sensitivity to numerous variability sources, it is hard to define the typicity of a monovarietal virgin olive oil (VOO) according to its phenolic profile. In this study, we aimed to identify the features of phenolic composition that are persistent and minimally affected by variability sources, making them potential varietal markers. We separately analyzed three databases of monovarietal VOO phenolic compositions, determined by liquid chromatography, from three different cultivars. The first database was produced from the original data of the Bosana cultivar. The other two were obtained through a systematic analysis of scientific literature on Coratina and Frantoio cultivars. Several statistical tools, including coefficient of variability, correlations, and linear regression models, were used to find recurring proportions or ratios unaffected by variability sources suitable to define typical varietal traits. Some proportions between molecules, mostly within the same phenolic class, remain constant. Strong correlations between (i) flavonoids were observed in Bosana and Frantoio VOOs (R2 = 0.87 and 0.77, respectively), (ii) oleacein-oleocanthal (Bosana, R2 = 0.81) (iii) oleuropein aglycon-ligstroside aglycon (Frantoio, R2 = 0.88), and (iv) lignans (Coratina, R2 = 0.84). These traits could be useful tools for defining the typicity of monovarietal VOOs.

Purpose Site-specific field management operations represent one of the fundamental principles of precision viticulture. The purpose of the research is to observe and analyse the evolution of a vineyard over three consecutive years to understand which factors most significantly influence the quality of the vineyard's production. Methods The research involved technologically advanced tools for crop monitoring, such as remote and proximal sensors for vegetation surveys. In association, grape quality analyses were performed through laboratory analysis, constructing geostatistical interpolation maps and matrix correlation tables. Results Both remote and proximal sensing instruments demonstrated their ability to effectively estimate the spatial distribution of vegetative and quality characteristics within the vineyard. Information obtained from GNDVI and CHM proved to be valuable and high-performance tools for assessing field variability. The differentiated plant management resulted in uniform production quality characteristics, a change evident through the monitoring techniques. Conclusion The research highlights the effectiveness of using advanced technological instruments for crop monitoring and their importance in achieving uniformity in production quality characteristics through differentiated plant management. From the results obtained, it was possible to observe how differentiated plant management led to a uniformity of production quality characteristics and how the monitoring techniques can observe their evolution. This result represents a positive accomplishment in field management during the three monitoring years, responding to the principles and objectives of precision agriculture.

Modeling phenological phases in a Mediterranean environment often implies tangible challenges to reconstructing regional trends over heterogenous areas using limited and scattered observations. The present investigation aimed to project phenological phases (i.e., sprouting, blooming, and pit hardening) for early and mid–late olive cultivars in the Mediterranean, comparing two phenological modeling approaches. Phenoflex is a rather integrated but data-demanding model, while a combined model of chill and anti-chill days and growing degree days (CAC_GDD) offers a more parsimonious and general approach in terms of data requirements for parameterization. We gathered phenological observations from nine experimental sites in Italy and temperature timeseries from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Reanalysis v5. The best performances of the CAC_GDD (RMSE: 4 days) and PhenoFlex models (RMSE: 5–9.5 days) were identified for the blooming and sprouting phases of mid–late cultivars, respectively. The CAC_GDD model was better suited to our experimental conditions for projecting pit hardening and blooming dates (correlation: 0.80 and 0.70, normalized RMSE: 0.6 and 0.8, normalized standard deviation: 0.9 and 1.0). The optimization of the principal parameters confirmed that the mid–late cultivars were more adaptable to thermal variability. The spatial distribution illustrated the near synchrony of blooming dates between the early and mid–late cultivars compared to other phases.

Due to the expansion of olive oil cultivation around the world and the increasing effects of climate change, Olea europaea (L:) cultivation must deal with ever higher temperatures and drought conditions, with productivity and virgin olive oil (VOO) quality issues. At the same time the demand for premium quality products with high nutraceutical value, chemical and organoleptic characteristics related to specific areas of cultivation is steadily rising. Within this framework a deep knowledge of the olive variety with regards to environment interaction is necessary to achieve VOO production and qualitative standards required by the market. Rainfed adult olives (cv Bosana) cultivated in five typical areas of north and central Sardinia (Italy) were the subject of a three-year study, with the aim to investigate the influence of pedoclimatic variability on olive and olive oil characteristics. Physical and chemical attributes of fruits (morphometric features, firmness, pH, titratable acidity, sugar content, moisture, and oil yield) and VOO (fatty acid and sensory profile) were analysed at harvest and related to monthly weather data (precipitation, maximum, average, and minimum temperatures) of the whole fruit development period and soil composition. Monthly maximum temperatures were the most relevant variables. However, the role of each meteorologic variable was specific per olive and olive oil parameters and their relevance varied according to the period of the season. An emblematic example is that the maximum temperatures during summer months reduced oil yield and improved oleic acid concentration, but during the following months, the same variable exerted an opposite effect. This suggests the presence of a maximum temperature threshold in the olive fruits, for lipogenesis processes. Meteoclimatic conditions during maturation were the principal element responsible for VOO sensory profile: high precipitation and low thermal amplitude promoted an attribute's intensities.

A field experiment, set up in a private vineyard located in Alghero (Sardinia) and planted in 2000, was carried out over two seasons on Vitis vinifera L. 'Cannonau' and 'Cabernet Sauvignon' in order to compare pre-veraison and post-veraison water restrictions on vine performance and fruit composition. For the cultivars under observation, during the vegetative and productive seasons, both the chemical characteristics of the musts and berry texture analysis, as well as yield and its components were analyzed. A randomized block design was used to study the follow treatments: NI (non irrigated), FI (full irrigated), LD (late deficit, irrigation supply until veraison) and ED early deficit, irrigation supply after veraison). Main results showed that 'Cabernet Sauvignon' is more sensitive to water stress. However, in both cultivars, the irrigation treatments affected yield and must quality. As expected, sugar content and total anthocyanins were higher in stressed vines. Regarding LD and ED treatments, the water supplied before and post veraison promoted a better must composition on 'Cannonau' and 'Cabernet Sauvignon' respectively. Skin thickness have shown a different evolution during berry ripening among the cultivars.

The calibration of a reliable phenological model for olive grown in areas characterized by great environmental heterogeneity, like Italy, where many varieties exist, is challenging and often suffers from a lack of observations, especially on budbreak. In this study, we used a database encompassing many phenological events from different olive varieties, years, and sites scattered all over Italy to identify the phases in which site-enlarged developmental rates can be well regressed against air temperature (Developmental Rate function, DR) by testing both linear and nonlinear functions. A K-fold cross-validation (KfCV) was carried out to evaluate the ability of DR functions to predict phenological development. The cross-validation showed that the phases ranging from budbreak (BBCH 01 and 07) to flowering (BBCH 61 and 65) and from the beginning of flowering (BBCH 51) to flowering can be simulated with high accuracy (r2 = 0.93–0.96; RMSE = 3.9–6.6 days) with no appreciable difference among linear and nonlinear functions. Thus, the resulting DRs represent a simple yet reliable tool for regional phenological simulations for these phases in Italy, paving the way for a reverse modeling approach aimed at reconstructing the budbreak dates. By contrast, and despite a large number of phases explored, no appreciable results were obtained on other phases, suggesting possible interplays of different drivers that need to be further investigated.

Nitrogen is a key macronutrient for the quantitative and qualitative yield of grapes; in addition, it influences the development and reproduction of grape pests. The multiple effects of different nitrogen rates were investigated on the red berry cultivar ‘Carignano’ and the grape pest Planococcus ficus in a two-year field trial. Different amounts of ammonium nitrate were compared: 0, 80 and 160 Units ha−1 for mineral nitrogen. The amount of nitrogen fertilization supplied influenced the nitrogen status of vines and increased the pruning weight and leaf area, as well as the overall grape yield, by increasing the cluster weight. However, doubling the nitrogen rate did not generally increase the vegetative and productive parameters of grapevines. At harvest, nitrogen supply did not influence the anthocyanin content, tritatable acidity, and soluble solids, although the latter parameter showed a clear, yet not significant, decreasing trend. Planococcus ficus exhibited higher fecundity, survival and shorter development time on grapevines provided with nitrogen, whereas its fertility was unaffected by nitrogen fertilization. Ultimately, nitrogen had a direct and positive effect on grape yield and vine mealybug development, highlighting the importance of integrated cultural and pest control practices to promote grape production.

Advantages of vineyard cover crops include soil conservation, nutrient and water cycling, and a better growth–yield balance. They naturally promote agro-system biological multifunctionality, soil biocenosis, and biological pest control. However, for the role of cover crops on disease control, there is still a lack of information. We performed a systematic evaluation of the soil management effects on the development of two main pathogens: Plasmopara viticola and Erysiphe necator. Conventional soil tillage was compared to grass and legume cover crops during a three-season trial in the Nurra wine region (Sardinia, Italy). Disease and grapevine development were assessed in relation to the weather, leaf area growth, leaf nitrogen, canopy density, and favorable microclimatic conditions for each disease, to weight their importance on disease susceptibility in each treatment. Higher infection percentages were observed in plots subjected to soil tillage. Disease development was better understood in relation to leaf area, leaf nitrogen, and canopy density. The main role of weather conditions on downy mildew infections was ascertained, yet high canopy sunlight levels reduced disease spread under grass cover. For powdery mildew, leaf nitrogen had a crucial role in disease development under soil tillage, and canopy light and hygrothermal conditions had the most relevant function on disease development in cover-cropped vineyards.

Beyond climatic conditions, qualitative performance is led by the intrinsic characteristics of the genotype. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between vine water status and exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) application on berry composition of the cultivars Cannonau, Merlot and Sangiovese. The experiment, carried out in 2016 and 2017, consisted of comparing two levels of irrigation treatments, full irrigation versus a non-irrigation treatment. Within each treatment, two sub-treatments were set up: (i) 4 mL L−1 of exogenous ABA applied at veraison to clusters only and subsequently repeated after six days; (ii) a control (untreated vines). The application of different irrigation regimes confirmed that the response to water stress is highly cultivar-dependent. Berry composition was influenced differently among cultivars by water stress. In terms of metabolites, positive influences were observed with Cannonau. No significant effects were observed by spraying exogenous ABA directly on grapes. Moreover, no significant interactions were found between the application of water stress and ABA. Exogenous ABA application did not appear to be a viticultural practice capable of influencing must composition in environments characterized by severe environmental conditions such as heat and drought.

The photosynthetic and photochemical adaptation of grapevine leaves to high UV radiation, under hot and dry summer conditions, was investigated in near-isohydric Cannonau (syn. Grenache) and near-anisohydric Bovale grande (syn. Carignan). From pea-size stage until harvest, vines with mild to moderate water deficit were subjected to UV-blocking treatment (-UV) and compared to a control exposed to sunlight (C). Canopy light and thermal microclimate, growth and density, maximum leaf gas exchange, primary photochemistry (PSII) and phenols were monitored. Average increments in canopy temperature under-UV tunnels during day-time and night-time were 3.3 degrees C and 0.8 degrees C in Bovale grande and 2.6 degrees C and 1.1 degrees C in Cannonau. Cultivars reached similar leaf area, intrinsic water-use efficiency and stem water potential under C and-UV Cannonau showed lower stomatal conductance, maximum net assimilation and transpiration rates, but also faster recovery of PSII under heat and moderate water stress. UV radiation induced a stronger and longer impact on leaf assimilation, but the duration of elevated temperatures under -UV induced higher photoinhibition and lower photochemical efficiency. A similar degree of correlation between leaf temperature and gas exchange was found among cultivars and treatments. In Cannonau, leaf anthocyanin decreased due to heat-induced long-lasting PSII photoinactivation under C. Conversely, Bovale grande showed higher phenolic content stability, thus higher photoprotection and recovery of PSII functional units. Agronomical practices affecting leaf phenolic accumulation influence canopy acclimation to heat and high sunlight. Vineyard management must avoid excessive canopy sun exposure and duration of elevated temperatures to favour high assimilation, while reducing photoinactivation and heat damage.

The influence of light and thermal microclimate on berry quality of a Vermentino vineyard, managed with deficit irrigation strategies in north-western Sardinia, was analyzed. Two water deficit, pre- (ED) and post-veraison (LD), an irrigation (IC) and a non-irrigation (NC) control treatments were compared during berry development. Grapevine performances were evaluated by analyzing leaf gas exchange, source-sink balance, light and thermal microclimate effects on berry composition. Early and/or late deficit irrigation following a mild to moderate water stress threshold enabled high leaf physiological performances. Though with high stomatal conductance sensitivity to water deficit and anisohydric behavior, this variety exhibited high assimilation rate and quick recovery capacity after enduring moderate and severe water stress. All treatments achieved satisfactory sugar and acidic levels. Berry phenols were higher in LD due to lower canopy coverage and better light conditions compared to IC. Up to mid-ripening, cluster exposure to elevated temperatures negatively influenced phenolic accumulation, mostly in NC and to a lower extent in ED. In the last ripening weeks, total phenols was majorly influenced by light interception.

Guided by TNF-α secretion inhibitory activity assay, four taraxastane-type triterpenoids, including two new ones, 22-oxo-20-taraxasten-3β, 30-diol (1) and 22α-hydroxy-20-taraxasten-30β, 30-triol (2), have been obtained from an active fraction of the petroleum ether-soluble extract of the the medicinal and edible plant Cirsium setosum. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic data and CD data analysis. In the TNF-α secretion inhibitory activity assay, compounds 1 and 2 were active with the IC50 of 2.6 and 3.8 μmol·L−1, respectively. In addition, compounds 1 and 2 showed moderately selective cytotoxicity against the human ovarian cancer (A2780) and colon cancer (HCT-8) cell lines.