Towards a non-invasive monitoring of the soil-plant-atmosphere interactions: insights from a Mediterranean vineyard case study

Abstract

Abstract This study evaluated a non-invasive, integrated monitoring approach to characterize the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC) in a commercial vineyard of Pignoletto (PG) and Trebbiano Romagnolo (TR). The approach is based on a cosmic-ray neutron sensor (CRNS) to continuously monitor soil water content (SWC), which was normalized into extractable soil water (ESW) to represent plant-available water. Moreover, vapor pressure deficit (VPD) was calculated based on weather data to characterize the atmospheric demand. Finally, remotely sensed NDVI data were used to detect canopy development and vine physiological responses. Over two growing seasons, measurements of midday stem water potential (Ψ stem ) and berry composition complemented the monitoring activities. In 2023, ripening was largely buffered from atmospheric demand, with Ψ stem values between − 0.66 and − 1.06 MPa, reflecting SWC as a non-limiting factor and uniform ripening. Conversely, the 2024 season showed more negative Ψ stem (-0.95 to -1.12 MPa) and an accelerated ripening process, particularly in TR. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) explained 65% of the variance in 2023 and 81.5% in 2024, revealing that environmental drivers (ESW, VPD) became more tightly linked to physiological and grape composition traits (Ψ stem , TSS, TA). Overall, the results showed the capability of the integrated approach to capture the main interactions within the SPAC offering a non-invasive and scalable tool for supporting precision and sustainability in Mediterranean viticulture.

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