Assessment of plant hydraulics in grapevine on various "terroirs" in the Canton of Vaud (Switzerland)

Abstract

<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Aims</strong>: The aim of this paper is to study the relevance of different physiological indicators concerning vines hydraulic in relation to estimations of the soil water reservoir on various « terroirs » in Switzerland.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Methods and results</strong>: Different physiological indicators like leaf and stem water potentials, carbon isotope discrimination and a model of transpirable soil water were used. A close relationship was observed between pre-dawn leaf water potential and the soil water holding capacity (SWHC) from about thirty study sites over a period of three years.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Conclusion</strong>: The different assessments of plant hydraulics (leaf water potential, carbon isotope discrimination technique, model of transpirable soil water) were in good agreement with the soil water holding capacity.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Significance and impact of study</strong>:The results confirm the importance and the possibilities to estimate plant water ability in relation with soil water holding capacity and climatic factors.</p>