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The aim was the evaluation of the biochemical and physiological responses of green- (GP) and red-leafed (RP) Prunus cerasifera mature leaves to 20 d of polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000)-induced water stress in order to elucidate a possible ameliorative role exerted by anthocyanins. At 10 d, the anthocyanin content remained unchanged in RP water-stressed leaves. Photosynthetic rate was lower in GP than that of RP (83.4 vs. 76.5%, respectively), paralleled by a higher degree of photoinhibition (Fv/Fm) in GP leaves. Leaves of GP accounted for higher content of soluble sugars at 10 d, when RP only showed a slight sucrose increase. At 20 d of stress, both morphs recovered their Fv/Fm values, suggesting the ability of both genotypes to adjust their photosynthetic metabolism under conditions of water stress. In conclusion, besides the sunscreen role served by anthocyanins, the carbon sink by these flavonoids might have further prevented sugar accumulation and the consequent sugar-promoted feedback regulation of photosynthesis in drought-stressed red leaves.

The SIMDualKc model was applied to evaluate the crop water use and the crop coefficient (Kc) of an irrigated olive grove (Olea europaea L.) located in Sicily, Italy, using experimental data collected from two crop seasons. The model applies the FAO56 dual Kc approach to compute the actual crop evapotranspiration (ETc act) and its components, i.e., the actual tree transpiration (Tc act), obtained through the basal crop coefficient (Kcb), and soil evaporation according to an evaporation coefficient (Ke). Model calibration was performed by minimizing the difference between the predicted Tc act and the observed daily tree transpiration measured with sap flow instrumentation (TSF field) acquired in 2009. The validation was performed using the independent data set of sap flow measurements from 2011. The calibrated Kcb was equal to 0.30 for the initial and non-growing season stages, 0.42 for the mid-season, and 0.37 for the end season. For both seasons, the goodness-of-fit indicators relative to comparing TSF field with the simulated Tc act resulted in root mean square errors (RMSE) lower than 0.27 mm d−1 and a slope of the linear regression close to 1.0 (0.94 ≤ b0 ≤ 1.00). The olive grove water balance simulated with SIMDualKc produced a ratio between soil evaporation (Es) and ETc act that averaged 39%. The ratio between actual (ETc act) and potential crop evapotranspiration (ETc) varied from 84% to about 99% in the mid-season, indicating that the values of ETc act are close to ETc, i.e., the adopted deficit irrigation led to limited water stress. The results confirm the suitability of the SIMDualKc model to apply the FAO56 dual Kc approach to tree crops, thus assessing the water use of olives and supporting the development of appropriate irrigation management tools that are usable by farmers. A different way to estimate Kcb is based on the approach suggested in 2009 by Allen and Pereira (A&amp, P), which involves the measured fraction of ground covered (shaded) by the crop and the height of the trees. Its application to the studied grove produced the mid-season Kcb values ranging from 0.40–0.45 and end-season Kcb values ranging from 0.35–0.40. The comparison between the A&amp, P-computed Tc act A&amp, P and TSF field shows RMSE values ranging from 0.27 to 0.43 mm d−1, which demonstrates the adequacy of the latter approach for parameterizing water balance models and for irrigation scheduling decision making.

The final stage of leaf ontogenesis is represented by senescence, a highly regulated process driven by a sequential cellular breakdown involving, as the first step, chloroplast dismantling with consequent reduction of photosynthetic efficiency. Different processes, such as pigment accumulation, could protect the vulnerable photosynthetic apparatus of senescent leaves. Although several studies have produced transcriptomic data on foliar senescence, just few works have attempted to explain differences in red and green leaves throughout ontogenesis. In this work, a transcriptomic approach was used on green and red leaves of Prunus cerasifera to unveil molecular differences from leaf maturity to senescence. Our analysis revealed a higher gene regulation in red leaves compared to green ones, during leaf transition. Most of the observed DEGs were shared and involved in transcription factor activities, senescing processes and cell wall remodelling. Significant differences were detected in cellular functions: genes related to photosystem I and II were highly down-regulated in the green genotype, whereas transcripts involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, such as UDP glucose-flavonoid-3-O-glucosyltransferase (UFGT) were exclusively up-regulated in red leaves. In addition, cellular functions involved in stress response (glutathione-S-transferase, Pathogen-Related) and sugar metabolism, such as three threalose-6-phosphate synthases, were activated in senescent red leaves. In conclusion, data suggests that P. cerasifera red genotypes can regulate a set of genes and molecular mechanisms that cope with senescence, promoting more advantages during leaf ontogenesis than compared to the green ones.

This study aimed to develop a new model, valid for soil with and without expandable characters, to estimate volumetric soil water content (&theta, ) from readings of scaled frequency (SF) acquired with the Diviner 2000&reg, sensor. The analysis was carried out on six soils collected in western Sicily, sieved at 5 mm, and repacked to obtain the maximum and minimum bulk density (&rho, b). During an air-drying process SF values, the corresponding gravimetric soil water content (U) and &rho, b were monitored. In shrinking/swelling clay soils, due to the contraction process, the variation of dielectric permittivity was affected by the combination of the mutual proportions between the water volumes and the air present in the soil. Thus, to account for the changes of &rho, b with U, the proposed model assumed &theta, as the dependent variable being SF and &rho, b the independent variables, then the model&rsquo, s parameters were estimated based on the sand and clay fractions. The model validation was finally carried out based on data acquired in undisturbed monoliths sampled in the same areas. The estimated &theta, &theta, estim, was generally close to the corresponding measured, &theta, meas, with Root Mean Square Errors (RMSE) generally lower than 0.049 cm3 cm&minus, 3, quite low Mean Bias Errors (MBE), ranging between &minus, 0.028 and 0.045 cm3 cm&minus, 3, and always positive Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency index (NSE), confirming the good performance of the model.

Water supplies have been decreasing in several semi-arid regions, and it is therefore necessary to adopt irrigation strategies aimed at maximizing water use efficiency. In this paper, the effects of saline and deficit irrigation on water use efficiency and on potato crop response, based on observations of soil and plant water status, were investigated. Experiments were carried out in Central Tunisia, by monitoring potato crop growth during two seasons in four distinct treatments (T1&ndash, T4), represented by two different irrigation doses and two water qualities. For irrigation scheduling purposes, thresholds of soil matric potential, soil water content and Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) were identified with the aim to quantify the effects of water and/or salinity stress on the achievable yield. Experiments allowed verifying that crop yield is strongly affected by the seasonal amount and quality of applied water. Despite differences of crop yield between treatments T2, T3 and T4 not being statistically significant (P &lt, 0.05), crop yield varied between 26.3 t/ha (T3 in 2015) to 16.3 t/ha (T4 in 2015). However, crop yield decline of 17.0 t/ha and 12.0 t/ha per each 100 mm decrease of applied water were observed under the application of water electrical conductivity of 1.6 dS/m and 4.1 dS/m respectively. On the other hand, an increase of 1.0 dS/m in water electrical conductivity caused a yield decline rate of about 10%. The results achieved showed that under the semi-arid climate of Tunisia, potato crop irrigation should be scheduled to avoid water deficit, however, the possibility to reduce water supply can be envisaged when water availability is limited, but with the awareness to accept the shortage of production. Finally, when saline water is the only source available to the farm, it is necessary to avoid the reduction of irrigation doses, to prevent excessive salt accumulation in the root zone with unavoidable effects on crop yield.

The objective of this paper was to assess the performance of Hydrus-2D model to simulate the effects of different on-farm irrigation strategies applied on potato crop. The ability of the model to simulate the stress coefficient (Ks), obtained as the ratio between actual and maximum transpiration, and to define the productive function of potato crop under the semi-arid conditions of central Tunisia were also evaluated. Experiments were carried out on potato crop under full (FI) and deficit irrigation (DI) and two different water qualities supplied by means of a subsurface drip irrigation system. Results evidenced that the model, despite some discrepancies locally observed, can fairly accurately predict soil water contents and electrical conductivity around buried emitters. Furthermore, under water and salt stress conditions, &ldquo, measured&rdquo, Ks, based on crop water stress index (CWSI) obtained on thermal images, resulted in a good correlation with the corresponding estimated by the model (R2 = 0.8). The database collected during the three growth seasons also allowed the definition of the crop productive function represented by a linear relationship between the relative yield loss and Ks. This function represents a useful guidelines for the sustainable use of irrigation water in countries characterized by a semi-arid climate and a limited availability of water for irrigation.

Accurate soil water status measurements across spatial and temporal scales are still a challenging task, specifically at intermediate spatial (0.1–10 ha) and temporal (minutes to days) scales. Consequently, a gap in knowledge limits our understanding of the reliability of the spatial measurements and its practical applicability in agricultural water management. This paper compares the cumulative EM38 (Geonics Ltd., Mississauga, ON, Canada) response collected by placing the sensor above ground with the corresponding soil water content obtained by integrating the values measured with an FDR (frequency domain reflectometry) sensor. In two field areas, characterized by different soil clay content, two Diviner 2000 access tubes (1.2 m) were installed and used to quantify the dimensionless fraction of transpirable soil water (FTSW). After the calibration, the work proposes the combined use of the FDR and electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensors to measure and map FTSW. A strong correlation (R2 = 0.86) between FTSW and EM38 bulk electrical conductivity was found. As a result, field changes of FTSW are due to the variability of soil water content and soil texture. As with the data acquired in the field, more structured patterns occurred after a wetting event, indicating the presence of subsurface flow or root water uptake paths. After assessing the relationship between the soil and crop water status, the FTSW domain includes a critical value, estimated around 0.38, below which a strong reduction of relative transpiration can be recognized.

The paper analyzes the performance of Hydrus-2D model to simulate the dynamic of soil water contents and transpiration fluxes in an olive orchard in which two different irrigation systems were used in 2011 and 2012. The relationship between measured midday stem water potential, MSWP, and simulated relative transpiration (ratio between simulated actual and maximum crop transpiration), Ks, was also identified with the aim to use the model for crop water status predictions. Finally, a scenario analysis was carried out for irrigation management purposes, by considering the level of crop water stress achieved in the different phases of the vegetative growth. The results evidenced that active roots (d

The knowledge of soil water content (SWC) dynamics in the upper soil layer is important for several hydrological processes. Due to the difficulty of assessing the spatial and temporal SWC dynamics in the field, some model-based approaches have been proposed during the last decade. The main objective of this work was to assess the performance of two approaches to estimate SWC in the upper soil layer under field conditions: the physically-based thermal inertia and the Hydrus model. Their validity was firstly assessed under controlled laboratory conditions. Thermal inertia was firstly validated in laboratory conditions using the transient line heat source (TLHS) method. Then, it was applied in situ to analyze the dynamics of soil thermal properties under two extreme conditions of soil-water status (well-watered and air-dry), using proximity remote-sensed data. The model performance was assessed using sensor-based measurements of soil water content acquired through frequency (FDR) and time domain reflectometry (TDR). During the laboratory experiment, the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) was 0.02 m3 m−3 for the Hydrus model and 0.05 m3 m−3 for the TLHS model approach. On the other hand, during the in situ experiment, the temporal variability of SWCs simulated by the Hydrus model and the corresponding values measured by the TDR method evidenced good agreement (RMSE ranging between 0.01 and 0.005 m3 m−3). Similarly, the average of the SWCs derived from the thermal diffusion model was fairly close to those estimated by Hydrus (spatially averaged RMSE ranging between 0.03 and 0.02 m3 m−3).

[EN] Micro-irrigation is considered one of the most efficient water distribution systems and allows increasing water use efficiency if coupled with effective water-saving irrigation management strategies as regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) or partial root-zone drying (PRD) techniques. However, application of these strategies makes it crucial the real-time monitoring of soil and crop water status, in order to identify appropriate irrigation scheduling parameters (irrigation timing and doses) and to prevent irreversible damage of plant system and/or crop yield reductions. Even if midday stem water potential (MSWP) is considered one of the most affordable indicator for direct determinations of crop water status, its measurement requires skilled operators, is destructive and time consuming, so that indirect and fast estimations are desirable. In this direction, agro-hydrological models can be considered an easy-to-use tool for indirect evaluations of soil and crop water status aimed to identify irrigation scheduling parameters even when micro-irrigation distribution systems and water saving management strategies are adopted. The paper, after examining the eco-physiological response of citrus orchards to soil water deficit, assessed the potential of FAO-56 agro-hydrological modelto identify the crop water stress under different irrigation management strategies. Experiments carried out during three years (2009–2011) allowed identifying the crop water stress response to soil water deficit conditions, also confirming the schematization proposed in FAO-56 paper for citrus orchards. Moreover, after evaluating the similarity between the measured MSWP with the simulated crop water stress coefficient, Ks, it was proved the fairly good performance of FAO-56 agrohydrological model to predict soil water content (RMSE = 0.04 m3 m−3), from one side, and the crop response to different irrigation management strategies, from the other. The obtained results evidenced that the crop water stress coefficient estimated by the model can be used as a suitable indicator to replace the tedious and time-consuming field measurements of MSWP. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved., Research was carried out in the frame of the PRIN 2010 projects, co-financed by Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Universita e della Ricerca (MIUR) and Universita degli Studi di Palermo. Authors wish to thank the Committee for International Relations Office (CORI) of University of Palermo to support the research cooperation with the Polytechnic University of Valencia.

The main objective of the work is to optimize drip installation depth for Eggplant crop irrigated with surface or subsurface drip irrigation systems to improve irrigation Water Use Effeciency (WUE), by means of field measurements and simulations carried out with Hydrus-2D model. Initially, a comparison between simulated Soil Water Contents (SWC) and the corresponding measured in two plots, in which laterals with coextruded emitters are laid on the soil surface (T0) and at 20 cm depth (T20), respectively. In order to choose the best position of the lateral, the results of different simulation run, carried out by choosing a deeper installation (T45) depth. Simulated SWC’s resulted fairly close to the corresponding measured at different distances from the emitter and therefore the model was able to predict SWC’s in the root zone with values of the Root Mean Square Error generally lower than 4%. This result is consequent to the appropriate schematization of the root distribution, as well as of the root water uptake. The values of WUE associated to the different examined installation depths tend to a very slight increase when the position of the lateral is situated on 20 cm and start to decrease for the higher depths.

he knowledge of soil water content (SWC) of the upper soil layer is important for most hydrological processes occurring over vegetated areas and under dry climate. Because direct field measurements of SWC are difficult, the use of different type of sensors and model-based approaches have been proposed and extensively used during the last decade. The main objective of this work is to assess the performance of two models estimating SWC of the upper soil layer: the transient line heat source method and the physically based Hydrus-1D model. The models' performance is assessed using field measurements acquired through a Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR). The experiment was carried out on an olive orchard located near the town of Castelvetrano (South-West of Sicily - latitude 37.6429°, longitude 12.8471°). The temporal dynamic of topsoil water content was investigated in two samplers, under wet and dry conditions. The samplers were opened at the upper boundary and inserted into the soil to ensure the continuity of the soil surface. A K2D Pro sensor allowed to measure the soil thermal properties allowing to estimate soil thermal inertia and then SWC. The physically based Hydrus-1D model was also used to estimate SWC of both samples. Hourly records of soil water contents, acquired by a TDR100 probe, were used to validate both the considered models. The comparison between SWCs simulated by Hydrus-1D and the corresponding values measured by the TDR method evidenced a good agreement. Similarly, even SWCs derived from the thermal diffusion model resulted fairly close to those measured with the TDR.

Reference evapotranspiration (ET 0 ) is widely used for irrigation scheduling, to promote an efficient use of water resources for a sustainable agro-ecosystem productivity, as well as to manage water quality and to face other environmental concerns. As suggested by ASCE-EWRI and FAO, standard Penman–Monteith methods are generally applied for an accurate estimation of ET 0 from hourly to daily scale. In absence of detailed meteorological information several simplified equations, using a limited number of variables, have been proposed as alternative. In this paper, the performance of different reference evapotranspiration methods, at hourly (Penman–Monteith, Pristley–Taylor, Makkink and Turc) and daily scale (Penman–Monteith, Blaney and Criddle, Hargreaves, Pristley–Taylor, Makkink and Turc), was evaluated against scintillometer measurements collected during six month in 2005 in an experimental plot maintained under “reference” conditions (alfalfa crop). The daily values of ET 0 obtained with the examined methodologies were then used as input in the FAO-56 agro-hydrological model, in order to evaluate, for an olive grove in a Mediterranean environment, the impact on simulated actual evapotranspiration. The experiment was carried out in South-West Sicily, in an area where olive groves are the major crop. The comparison between estimated and measured fluxes confirmed that FAO-56 Penman–Monteith (PM) standardized equation is characterized by the lowest mean bias error (−0.15 mm d −1 and 0.06 mm d −1 using daily or hourly data, respectively). Additionally, the analysis also highlighted that the Pristley–Taylor equation can be considered a valid alternative for an accurate estimation of ET 0 (mean bias error of 0.35 mm d −1 and 0.43 mm d −1 using daily or hourly data, respectively). The application of the FAO-56 water balance model on the investigated olive grove evidenced that the best estimations of actual evapotranspiration are obtained when the Pristley–Taylor ET 0 data are used as input, confirming that this approach can be considered a valid alternative to the standard Penman–Monteith.

[EN] Agro-hydrological models are considered an economic and simple tool for quantifying crop water requirements. In the last two decades, agro-hydrological physically based models have been developed to simulate mass and energy exchange processes in the soil-plant-atmosphere system. Although very reliable, because of the high number of required variables, simplified models have been proposed to quantify crop water consumes. The main aim of this paper is to propose an amendment of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations FAO-56 spreadsheet program to introduce a more realistic shape of the stress function, valid for mature olive orchards (Olea europaea L.). The modified model is successively validated by means of the comparison between measured and simulated soil water contents and actual transpiration fluxes. These outputs are finally compared with those obtained with the original version of the model. Experiments also allowed assessing the ability of simulated crop water stress coefficients to explain the actual water stress conditions evaluated on the basis of measured relative transpirations and midday stem water potentials. The results show that the modified model significantly improves the estimation of actual crop transpiration fluxes and soil water contents under soil water deficit conditions, according to the RMSEs associated with the revised model, resulting in significantly higher than the corresponding values obtained with the original version. (C) 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.

Full spectral measurements (350–2500 nm) at tree canopy and leaf levels and the corresponding leaf water potentials (LWP) were acquired in an olive grove of Sicily, at different hours of the day, during summer season 2011. The main objective of the work was to assess, on the basis of the experimental data-set, two different approaches to detect crop water status in terms of LWP. Specifically, using existing families of Vegetation Indices (VIs) and applying Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) were optimised and tested. The results indicated that a satisfactory estimation of LWP at tree canopy and leaf levels can be obtained using vegetation indices based on the near infrared–shortwave infrared (NIR–SWIR) domain requiring, however, a specific optimisation of the corresponding “centre-bands”. At tree canopy level, a good prediction of LWP was obtained by using optimised indices working in the visible domain, like the Normalized Difference Greenness Vegetation Index (NDGI, RMSE = 0.37 and R2 = 0.57), the Green Index (GI, RMSE = 0.53 and R2 = 0.39) and the Moisture Spectral Index (MSI, RMSE = 0.41 and R2 = 0.48). On the other hand, a satisfactory estimation of LWP at leaf level was obtained using indices combining SWIR and NIR wavelengths. The best prediction was specifically found by optimising the MSI (RMSE of 0.72 and R2 = 0.45) and the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI, RMSE = 0.75 and R2 = 0.45). Even using the PLSR technique, a remarkable prediction of LWP at both tree canopy and leaf levels was obtained. However, this technique requires the availability of full spectra with high resolution, which can only be obtained with handheld spectroradiometers or hyper-spectral remote sensors.

Tree crops are representing one of most widespread agricultural systems in Mediterranean regions, thus contributing in a substantial way to the economy and productivity of primary sectors of the countries interested. Besides the aspects concerning their economical relevance, tree crops like vineyards, olive and orange orchards are also typical elements of the Mediterranean landscape, and their ecological role has been recently revitalised in consideration of their function as carbon sinks for the Kyoto agreement. The environmental and economical sustainability of these agricultural systems in arid and semi-arid zones has to cope with the availability and management of water resources for irrigation. During recent years there has been a substantial progress in understanding the evolution of evapotranspiration processes in cropping systems, and detailed models and measurement techniques have been set-up for describing the mass and energy exchanges in the soil-plant- atmosphere continuum. However, due to the complexity of rooting systems and aerial parts further steps are needed for a full comprehension of hydrological processes in tree crop systems, with special regard to water stress conditions. Within the research project P.R.I.N. 2008 “ Assessment of mass and energy fluxes for the irrigation management of Mediterranean tree crops ” different techniques for measuring evapotranspiration fluxes in tree crops will be developed and tested, from innovative methodologies based on remote sensing observations to in-situ observations (xylem-flow measurements and micro-meteorology). These data-sets have be interpreted by means of physical approaches, with a modelling perspective of the observed processes.

An operational use of the actual evapotranspiration estimates requires the integration from instantaneous to daily values. This can commonly be achieved under the hypothesis of daytime self-preservation of the evaporative fraction. In this study, it has been evaluated the effect of this assumption on the assessment of daily evapotranspiration from proximity sensing images acquired at hourly intervals over a homogeneous olive groove. Results have been validated by comparison with observations made by a micrometeorological (EC-flux tower) and an eco-physiological (sap flux) sensor. SEBAL model has been applied to thermal and multispectral images acquired during a clear day on August 2009 trough a FLIR A320G thermal camera and a Tetracam MCA II multispectral camera, installed on a tethered helium balloon. Thermal and multispectral images were characterized by very high spatial resolution. This experiment aims to analyze two effects: 1) the consistency of the self-preservation hypothesis for daily estimates of the actual evapotranspiration from hourly assessments at different times of the day; 2) the effects of the spatial resolution on the performances of the energy balance model. To evaluate the effects of the spatial resolution, semi-hourly observations made by a flux tower and sap-flow measures were compared to the evapotranspiration estimates performed using downscaled images at resolutions close to canopy sizes (2, 5 and 10 m). Results show that the best estimates are obtained with a spatial resolution comparable to the average size of the canopy with images taken approximately at 10 UTC.

Evapotranspiration estimation by micrometeorological techniques through the assessment of mass and energy exchanges in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC) is a very active research area, involving both well-known and novel measurement techniques. A crucial aspect in validating experimental results is the integration of independent measurements of mass and energy exchanges in the SPAC. To this aim, the development and validation of an integrated approach in major tree crop species, involving different independent techniques, are presented. Eddy covariance estimates of ET fluxes were compared to up-scaled sap flow measurements in olive, orange and grapevine, three important Mediterranean tree crop species with contrasting ecophysiological characteristics and responses to water deficits. These differences can affect directly the degree of coupling of the tree to the environment and, consequently, the degree of correspondence between instantaneous transpirational flux at tree level and the micrometeorological measurement of ET at orchard level. Data were analyzed to verify to what extent, in the three species, transpirational flow at orchard level is regulated by tree conductance, capacitance effects related to tree size or by environmental demand. Hourly observations were helpful in detecting physiological processes of the three species only when data were analyzed taking into consideration their diurnal changes.

Agro-hydrological models can be considered an economic and simple tool to quantify crop water requirements. In the last two decades, agro-hydrological physically based models have been developed to simulate mass and energy exchange processes in the soil-plant-atmosphere system. Although very reliable, due to the high number of required variables, simplified models have been proposed as simple tools to quantify crop water consumes. The main aim of the paper is to assess, for a Sicilian orchard of table olive, the suitability of FAO-56 agro-hydrological model to estimate the crop transpiration under soil water deficit conditions. The model validation is carried out by means of measurements of sap-flow and soil water contents, acquired during three years of field observations. An amendment of the model is suggested in order to take into account the water stress function and the soil water uptake ability as experimentally evaluated. The results show that the modified model improves the estimation of crop transpiration and soil water content, considered that the associated RMSEs resulted higher than the corresponding values obtained with the original version of the model.

The work aimed to discriminate among different soil management treatments in terms of beneficial effects by high-resolution thermal and spectral vegetation imagery using an unmanned aerial vehicle and open-source GIS software. Five soil management treatments were applied in two organic vineyards (cv. Sangiovese) from Chianti Classico terroir (Tuscany, Italy) during two experimental years. The treatments tested consisted of conventional tillage, spontaneous vegetation, pigeon bean (Vicia faba var. minor Beck) incorporated in spring, mixture of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and clover (Trifolium squarrosum L.) incorporated or left as dead mulch in late spring. The images acquired remotely were analyzed through map-algebra and map-statistics in QGIS and correlated with field ecophysiological measurements. The surface temperature, crop water stress index (CWSI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of each vine row under treatments were compared based on frequency distribution functions and statistics descriptors of position. The spectral vegetation and thermal-based indices were significantly correlated with the respective leaf area index (R2 = 0.89) and stem water potential measurements (R2 = 0.59), and thus are an expression of the crop vigor and water status. The gravel and active limestone soil components determined the spatial variability of vine biophysical (e.g., canopy vigor) and physiological characteristics (e.g., vine chlorophyll content) in both farms. The vine canopy surface temperature, and CWSI were lower on the spontaneous and pigeon bean treatments in both farms, thus evidencing less physiological stress on the vine rows derived from the cover crop residual effect. In conclusion, the proposed methodology showed the capacity to discriminate across soil management practices and map the spatial variability within vineyards. The methodology could serve as a simple and non-invasive tool for precision soil management in rainfed vineyards to guide producers on using the most efficient and profitable practice.