Paolo Benettin

TRACET - Tracing the origins of water transpired by grapevines. Grapevines are a valuable, long-lived species that is known to root deeply and access deep storages of soil water, sustaining production in even hot and dry regions. We currently do not know whether grape’s roots are ready to take up shallow water from small summer precipitation events in case deep water storage becomes scarce. This has implications for how we quantify grapevine-relevant precipitation budgets. With climate zones changing, a more refined understanding of rainwater use by grapes may allow for proactive management and planning in wine growing regions. The central goal of this project is to understand the origins and age of water transpired by plants, with particular focus on the water used by grapevines. To reach this goal we have set up two experimental vineyards in the Chianti region of Tuscany, Italy, where we monitor key hydro-physiological variables and collect samples for isotope analysis.

Water Age Neutral Habitats - There is a strong relationship between the magnitude of water fluxes (surface runoff, infiltration, evapotranspiration) and the fraction of permeable surfaces in a given landscape. Urban and territorial design can deeply modify this fraction and its associated fluxes. Taking hold from the most recent developments in the fields of environmental science and urbanism, we study the impact of urban planning on the water cycle, exploring the possibility of lowering – through design – net impacts on the water cycle of urbanized areas. This project’s case study lies within the Panke river catchment in Berlin (DE) https://wanh.epfl.ch/