Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Long-term Europe-Africa Research and Innovation Partnership for Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture

Titre : AdaMedOr : Adapting Mediterranean Orchards – science-based design of resilient fruit tree portfolios for the Mediterranean region

Pays/Région : Tunisia ; Spain ; Morocco

Date : Start date 2020-06-01 // End date 2023-05-31

Identifiant : 230-ADAMEDOR
Type de projet : Development and innovation oriented (research) project

Contexte
The productivity of many orchards of the Mediterranean region depends on particular climatic conditions during the cool season, which allow trees to break winter dormancy and resume active growth in spring. Temperature increases in recent decades, as well as further warming expected in the future, raise concerns about the long-term viability of tree-based production systems that have shaped the face of Mediterranean landscapes for centuries. Growers of chill-dependent tree crops, such as almond, pistachio, cherry, peach, apricot and apple, will have to adjust their array of tree cultivars, but they lack credible tools to facilitate such adaptation. Despite decades of dormancy research, there are still no models that perform well in warm climates. Researchers and orchard managers have thus struggled to estimate the thermal needs of available cultivars, and to identify appropriate cultivars for specific agroclimatic settings. A lack of understanding on the current distribution of tree cultivars hampers anticipation of the consequences of global warming, as well as limiting site-specific adaptation planning. The AdaMedOr project addresses these challenges by designing future-proof portfolios of tree cultivars to make orchards in Spain, Tunisia and Morocco resilient to the imminent impacts of global warming

Objectif
AdaMedOr aims to assess the current agro-biodiversity of temperate fruit trees in the Mediterranean area (Objective 1) by mapping cultivar distributions, identifying promising cultivars and assembling a database on cultivar phenology and performance. We will anticipate future tree performance with a novel state-of-the-art phenology modeling and climate impact projection framework (Objective 2), which will be used to estimate the thermal needs of Mediterranean tree cultivars, anticipate their future suitable ranges and map present and future chill and heat availability. Controlled experiments will facilitate model refinement. The emerging information will be used as input for participatory processes to design future-proof tree cultivar portfolios for the target countries (Objective 3). Inputs from tree nurseries, researchers and farmers will be incorporated to ensure that recommendations are in line with end user needs.

Coordinateur : University of Bonn
Partenaires : Centro de Edafologia Biologia Applicadadel Segura (CEBAS-CSIC) Agrifood Research and Technology Centre of Aragon (CITA) National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia (INAT) Olive Institute National School of Agriculture (ENA-Meknes) Superior School of Technology Khenifra Agromillora

Financement principal : Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) (H2020)
Budget : 738 000 EUR

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