Changing climate and potential impacts on potato yield and quality 'CHIP': introduction, aims and methodology

Climate change effects caused by an increasing concentration Of CO(2) and ozone represent an issue of major concern both for scientists and policy-makers. In a concerted program funded by the Commission of the European Union, a European network of experiments (in open-top chambers (OTC), and free air carbon dioxide enrichment systems (FACE)) and modelling was carried out to investigate the effects of increasing atmospheric CO(2) and ozone concentrations, under different climatic conditions, on potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Bintje). This contribution describes the experimental network and the standard protocol set-up, for the assessments that served to improve and to validate process oriented potato growth simulation models leading to scenarios of future productivity of potato in Europe. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.