Publications by year
2016
Mosedale JR, Abernethy KE, Smart RE, Wilson RJ, Maclean IMD (2016). Climate change impacts and adaptive strategies: lessons from the grapevine.
Glob Chang Biol,
22(11), 3814-3828.
Abstract:
Climate change impacts and adaptive strategies: lessons from the grapevine.
The cultivation of grapevines for winemaking, known as viticulture, is widely cited as a climate-sensitive agricultural system that has been used as an indicator of both historic and contemporary climate change. Numerous studies have questioned the viability of major viticulture regions under future climate projections. We review the methods used to study the impacts of climate change on viticulture in the light of what is known about the effects of climate and weather on the yields and quality of vineyard harvests. Many potential impacts of climate change on viticulture, particularly those associated with a change in climate variability or seasonal weather patterns, are rarely captured. Key biophysical characteristics of viticulture are often unaccounted for, including the variability of grapevine phenology and the exploitation of microclimatic niches that permit successful cultivation under suboptimal macroclimatic conditions. We consider how these same biophysical characteristics permit a variety of strategies by which viticulture can adapt to changing climatic conditions. The ability to realize these strategies, however, is affected by uneven exposure to risks across the winemaking sector, and the evolving capacity for decision-making within and across organizational boundaries. The role grape provenance plays in shaping perceptions of wine value and quality illustrates how conflicts of interest influence decisions about adaptive strategies within the industry. We conclude by considering what lessons can be taken from viticulture for studies of climate change impacts and the capacity for adaptation in other agricultural and natural systems.
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2015
Mosedale J, Wilson RJ, Maclean IMD (2015). Climate Change and Crop Exposure to Adverse Weather: Changes to Frost Risk and Grapevine Flowering Conditions.
PLOS ONE,
10(10).
Abstract:
Climate Change and Crop Exposure to Adverse Weather: Changes to Frost Risk and Grapevine Flowering Conditions
The cultivation of grapevines in the UK and many other cool climate regions is expected to benefit from the higher growing season temperatures predicted under future climate scenarios. Yet the effects of climate change on the risk of adverse weather conditions or events at key stages of crop development are not always captured by aggregated measures of seasonal or yearly climates, or by downscaling techniques that assume climate variability will remain unchanged under future scenarios. Using fine resolution projections of future climate scenarios for south-west England and grapevine phenology models we explore how risks to cool-climate vineyard harvests vary under future climate conditions. Results indicate that the risk of adverse conditions during flowering declines under all future climate scenarios. In contrast, the risk of late spring frosts increases under many future climate projections due to advancement in the timing of budbreak. Estimates of frost risk, however, were highly sensitive to the choice of phenology model, and future frost exposure declined when budbreak was calculated using models that included a winter chill requirement for dormancy break. The lack of robust phenological models is a major source of uncertainty concerning the impacts of future climate change on the development of cool-climate viticulture in historically marginal climatic regions.
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1999
Mosedale JR, Puech JL, Feuillat F (1999). The influence on wine flavor of the oak species and natural variation of heartwood components.
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The influence on wine flavor of the oak species and natural variation of heartwood components
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Puech JL, Feuillat F, Mosedale JR (1999). The tannins of oak heartwood: Structure, properties, and their influence on wine flavor.
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The tannins of oak heartwood: Structure, properties, and their influence on wine flavor
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1998
Mosedale JR, Feuillat F, Baumes R, Dupouey JL, Puech JL (1998). Variability of wood extractives among Quercus robur and Quercus petraea trees from mixed stands and their relation to wood anatomy and leaf morphology.
Canadian Journal of Forest Research,
28(7), 994-1006.
Abstract:
Variability of wood extractives among Quercus robur and Quercus petraea trees from mixed stands and their relation to wood anatomy and leaf morphology
Heartwood ellagitannins and volatile extractives were studied by high-pressure liquid chromatography and gas chromatography - mass spectrometry after extraction of wood samples taken from 54 mature trees of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) and sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) from 14 mixed stands located in the forest of Cîteaux (Bourgogne). These same trees had been previously subject to detailed study of leaf morphology and wood anatomy. Over 50 compounds, of diverse chemical types, were identified in the wood extracts and over 30 of these compounds were quantified. No species-specific extractives were identified, but the amounts of ellagitannins and a small number of volatile compounds, including cis- and trans-βmethyl-γ-octalactone isomers, were found to vary significantly between the two species. Multivariate analyses of these extractives allowed the classification of samples according to species, although less distinctly than similar analyses using leaf morphological characteristics. No strong intraspecific correlations between chemical constituents and anatomical or morphological characteristics were found that were common for both species. Nonetheless, sessile oaks displaying atypical wood anatomy were also less morphologically and chemically representative of their species. Trees possessing the lowest levels of cis- and trans-β-methyl-γ-octalactone are found to be those with a morphology the least distinct of either species.
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Mosedale JR, Puech JL (1998). Wood maturation of distilled beverages.
Trends in Food Science and Technology,
9(3), 95-101.
Abstract:
Wood maturation of distilled beverages
A wide range of distilled beverages, including whisky and cognac, continue to be matured for many years in oak barrels. During maturation a range of physical and chemical interactions take place between the barrel, the surrounding atmosphere and the maturing spirit which transform both the flavour and composition of the drink. The effects and time required for maturation are highly variable and are influenced by a wide range of factors, particularly the type of barrel used. As our understanding of the process has improved there has been increasing interest in methods of predicting controlling and simulating the effects of maturation.
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1996
Mosedale JR, Savill PS (1996). Variation of heartwood phenolics and oak lactones between the species and phenological types of Quercus petraea and Q. robur.
Forestry,
69(1), 47-55.
Abstract:
Variation of heartwood phenolics and oak lactones between the species and phenological types of Quercus petraea and Q. robur
Pressler cores were taken of Quercus petraea and Q. robur trees from young German provenance stands and mature mixed plantations in England. The concentration of total phenolics extracted from the outer heartwood was measured and significant differences found between the two species. Concentrations of oak lactones, measured from provenance samples, also varied significantly between the species. However, the difference in total phenolics between species was much lower among the trees from the mixed plantations than from the provenance trials. Q. petraea was characterized by lower levels of total phenolics but greater concentrations of oak lactones than Q. robur. A comparison between late and early flushing Q. petraea trees found no significant difference in total phenolics between these phenological types.
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Mosedale JR, Ford A (1996). Variation of the flavour and extractives of European oak wood from two French forests.
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture,
70(3), 273-287.
Abstract:
Variation of the flavour and extractives of European oak wood from two French forests
Wood from 20 trees from each of two French forests was heat treated and then stored in a 63% ethanol solution. After 6 months the concentrations of lignin degradation products, oak lactones, ellagic and gallic acids in the solutions were measured. The solutions were also assessed for flavour. Analyses of variance and principal component analyses found significant differences between the two forests in both the chemical composition of the solutions and in flavour assessments. Additional trials confirmed that the duration of heating influenced both chemical and flavour characters, but indicated that the effects may vary, depending upon wood properties and origin of the wood. © 1996 SCI.
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